Broken Wings
by SaturnXK
Summary: The typical Harry Potter x Naruto crossover. HP Book 4. -Complete- (Don't bother reading if you're expecting something great. This was an experimental story and a first time one at that. Quite honestly it's only still here because I'd like this to be an example of what NOT to do in a crossover... or any story, really.)
1. Mission Request

**Hi everyone. This is Saturn here! This is my first Naruto/Harry Potter cross-over**** that I have actually published. I have been reading a lot of them lately and I just really love the storyline... so I decided to make my own =3**

**I originally planned this story to be set in the fifth book of the Harry Potter series, but after writing about twelve chapters, each about five thousand words each, I suddenly decided to change it and make the story set in book four.**

**Let's see... just some general information. Okay, as you all know, this is set in the fourth book of Harry Potter. Naruto and the gang are now seventeen and eighteen year olds. They are ANBU.**

**The pairings will be:**

**Neji x Tenten (I love those two!)**

**Naruto x Hinata**

**I may add in more pairings later on (they are decided by the reviewers) but these two are definitely staying, although I'll try to keep the characters in character XP. I'll also try not to focus on the couples-get-together part too much, but I do like to have fun with them. **

**And, of course, my disclaimer. I know you've heard it many times: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K Rowling respectively.**

**And so, may I present to you: ANBU Mission: Protecting Hogwarts**

**Chapter One: Mission ****Request**

(...)

It was raining in Konoha. Huge fat droplets of water fell from the sky and made deep puddles on the ground. It was strange weather. Konoha was normally sunny and bright. This rain made it dreary and cold. However, it did not affect any of the Konoha ninja. There were still the usual guards patrolling the border, and Kotetsu and Izumo were still keeping watch at the village gates, although they were under a shelter that gave them no protection whatsoever from the pouring rain.

A certain blonde Hokage sat behind her desk in her office, signing off paperwork. Well, _attempting_ to sign off paperwork; she was making rather slow progress. In one hand she held a pen, and in the other, her usual cup of sake. Every now and then, she would stop and gaze out the window, bored and wishing for the rain to stop. It didn't help that the sound of water droplets hitting the roof made her want to fall asleep.

As she sorted through the piles of towering paper, she spotted an envelope made of some kind of thick, heavy parchment. She raised an eyebrow; Konoha, or any of the Ninja Countries, for that matter, didn't own paper such as this. A seal of a badger, lion, snake and an eagle adorned the letter and it was sealed with a sticky coating of red wax. There was only one place she could think of that had paper such as this one, along with its seal. Curiosity alerted, she carefully opened the letter and unfolded it.

_Greetings to the Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves,_

_I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am seeking your services to protect my school this year. A man by the name of Lord Voldemort is proving a danger to Hogwarts. I am sure that having ninja guard my school will help in the safety of my students. There is also a boy in particular I would like to have especially protected. His name is Harry Potter, and he is prophesised to bring down Lord Voldemort._

_About ten to fifteen ninja will be needed, as the school is a large place. I will pay any amount of money to hire them. Please reply and if you accept, I will come and collect them in a week of you sending this letter back._

_Regards,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Tsunade stared at the letter for a few seconds, before the words 'any amount of money' caught her eyes and registered in her brain. A slow smirk spread across her face. Grinning, she called out to Shizune.

"Shizune! Call in Naruto and his team RIGHT NOW!" Tsunade yelled. A muffled 'Hai!' was heard on the other side of the door and she heard Shizune running down the hallway, her heels clip-clopping. Tsunade didn't stop smiling as she swivelled around in her chair, all other paperwork forgotten. It seemed as though the rainy day wasn't so bad after all.

(...)

Ten minutes later

"Ne, ne. Tsunade baa-chan, what's going on?" a teen in a fox mask grumbled. Naruto may have aged into a seventeen year old ANBU agent, but that didn't mean he had lost his disrespectful way of speaking to the Hokage. A vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead as she tried to stop her hand from pummelling his ass all the way to Suna and back. It seemed as though Tsunade had gotten better self-control over the years.

"Baka! We have to wait for the others," Sakura said, rolling her eyes behind her slug mask as well as giving him a hard whack upside the head. The third person in the room stood silent and unmoving behind his raven mask as he tried to tune out his teammates argument. Uchiha Sasuke had returned from his quest for revenge (don't ask me how, I don't know. Let's just say Naruto brought him back and now everything's fine, ne? I really don't want to explore the details) but like always, he was stoic and didn't often take sides in Naruto's and Sakura's fights, although he did still like to argue with Naruto, only for the satisfaction of watching Naruto get pissed in the first five words of the exchange.

"Who else is coming?" Slug asked, finally deciding to end her squabbling.

"Let's see... Neji, Tenten, Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino and I think Gaara," Tsunade stated, listing off the names.

"Nani? Gaara? But what about Shino, Choji, Bushy-Brows, Sai, Temari and Kankuro?" Fox shouted.

"Raccoon because I think he will be best for the mission, and Shino, Choji, Sai and Lee are on another ANBU mission. They may join you later," Tsunade explained. She didn't bother expressing the fact that she only invited Gaara to take part in the mission because she had a feeling that he wanted to get away from his paperwork. Gaara used to be a member of the Konoha-Sunagakure ANBU alliance squad, with Temari and Kankuro still in it.

"Yo, sorry we're late," came a sudden voice to Fox's right. He blinked and turned around to see an ANBU agent clad in a dog mask with a large white dog next to him. A blue haired girl in a cat mask stood beside the dog and murmured a soft apology on their lateness. A second later, two _poofs_ were heard and an ANBU with long, chocolate coloured hair tied up in a loose, low ponytail appeared in an eagle mask alongside a brown-haired girl with two buns wearing a dragon mask.

"You smell like wet dog," Fox pointed out to the new arrivals. Dog sighed.

"Maybe because Akamaru _is_ a dog and we've just been out in the rain," Dog said. A third _poof_ was heard and the all-time lazy genius appeared in a stag mask. The door opened quietly and a blonde girl entered wearing a swan mask stepped in. Tsunade frowned.

"Now we just have to wait for the Kazekage," Tsunade sighed. "He should be here in a few moments." The ninja had developed a new transportation jutsu that enabled the user to teleport wherever they wanted, with the limit being around one thousand kilometres. Quite handy, although it drained a large amount of chakra and was used only if needed. It was called the '1000 kilometre jutsu'.

"I'm already here," a cool voice stated. Gaara appeared in front of the Hokage's desk wearing a mask of raccoon and carrying his usual sand gourd. "Good day to you, Kazekage," Tsunade said. Raccoon repeated the greeting.

"Hey Raccoon!" Naruto grinned. Raccoon turned towards him and acknowledged the welcome with a nod. "Where's Kankuro and Temari?"

"Kankuro is staying behind as acting Kazekage with Temari. If it's alright after the first few months, they might join us in the mission," Raccoon said quietly. "The only reason I am participating this time is because as the leader of Sunagakure, it is my duty to oversee any possible threats to the ninja world and in particular, Suna. This Lord Voldemort seems to be a danger." He didn't mention the fact that it also got him away from his paperwork.

"Good! Now everyone is here! I can start the mission debriefing," Tsunade said. "Now, you all don't know this, apart from Raccoon, being the Kazekage and all, but there are other dimensions other than ours." She paused to let this information sink in. Even with the masks, she could tell that their mouths were open.

"Other dimensions?" Dragon repeated.

"You mean the place we are going to for our mission is in another dimension?" Raccoon said. His jade-green eyes then proceeded to narrow. "Are you talking about the magical dimension?" Tsunade nodded, while the other ANUB looked on, clueless. Tsunade then went on about other dimensions (I'm just gonna skip all this) and then to the reason of the mission.

"So, basically, all you have to do is protect Hogwarts from Lord Voldemort. You could compare him to Orochimaru but one in the magical world. As well as protecting Hogwarts, you must guard the student Harry Potter for reasons I can't be bothered to tell you about. Dumbledore-san can explain it to you. This mission will last around about ten to twelve months, maybe more, maybe less.

"The conditions surrounding this will be that you all are to remain in full ANBU gear, including masks, armour and weapons. If, after the first two months or so, you think it is safe to reveal your faces, do so, but only if you are sure. If not, remain masked. Dumbledore-san will explain to you the rules of the castle. Is that clear?" After receiving nods from her agents, she sighed and leaned back. Raccoon stepped forward and whispered something quietly in her ear, so quiet that even the rest of the ANBU, with their highly trained senses, could not catch. Tsunade nodded.

"Alright, Fox will be captain for this mission, Raccoon second-in-command and Raven third-in-command," Tsunade finished. She handed each of them scrolls. "This is important information on the mission. I will also expect you to send a mission report to me on the first day of every month by owl, Fox, which Dumbledore-san will help with as I don't know how to make birds travel from one dimension to another."

"You all have one week to prepare. Bring as many weapons as you can and all your ANBU gear and say goodbye to everyone etc. Clear?" The ANBU nodded. "Dismissed."

(...)

One week later

The ninja had gathered silently in the Hokage's office. The rain had finally cleared up over the course of the week, and now the usual sunlight filtered in between the occasional puffs of clouds.

Without warning, an old man appeared in front of them. The ninja jumped and tensed up, kunai instantly appearing in their hands. Tsunade waved at them to put them away.

"He's our client," Tsunade said. Fox turned to the old man, opening his mouth to speak but then finding himself unable to because he had finally registered the eccentric clothing that the man wore. To put it simply, he was wearing a purple dress.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Fox crowed. He doubled over, holding his stomach with tears leaking out of his eyes. "YOUR'RE WEARING A DRESS! HAHAHAHA!"

"Baka!" Sakura yelled and hit his head. That shut him up instantly. She bowed to the old man.

"Gomenasai. My friend is a little stupid sometimes," she said nervously. The man's eyes twinkled and he smiled at her.

"No matter, my dear," the old man laughed. He turned to the rest of the group. "Good day to you all," the man said. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, or, as you people say it, Dumbledore Albus." Recovering from her annoyance at Naruto, Tsunade welcomed him.

"Greetings, Dumbledore-san," Tsunade smiled. "It had been a while."

"Tsunade-chan," Dumbledore beamed. "It had indeed been a very long time." Before the two adults could get into an all-out conversation, Swan cleared her throat.

"Er, yes, of course, the mission," Tsunade said. "Well, Dumbledore-san will take you to Hogwarts by portkey. If you read your mission scrolls, you would know what they are. After that, you know what to do."

"Please put a finger to this," Dumbledore said, holding out a lamp. "It will activate in about one minute." Curious, the ninja stuck a finger on the lamp while feeling extremely idiotic. Finally, the portkey began to glow.

"Good luck and don't die," Tsunade grinned before they were swept away.

(...)

**From now on**

_**Italics:**_** Japanese  
><strong>_**Italics:**_** also when something is being emphasised.  
><strong>_**Italics**_**: when someone is thinking  
>Normal: English<br>I trust you guys to tell the difference between all the **_**italics**_**. **

The ninja slammed onto the ground rather ungracefully for people of their rank. The only ones who managed to stay upright were Raven, Eagle and Raccoon, although the said three were swaying slightly. Muffled shouts and complaints came from the undignified heap on the ground and Dumbledore chuckled as he watched them try to untangle themselves.

"_Swan, you pig! You're on my leg!"_

"_Argh! Akamaru! Get your furry butt off my stomach."_

"_This is troublesome."_

"_Fox, your hand is on my face!"_

"_I can't breathe! You're on my chest."_

"_Dammit Slug! Your elbow is jabbing my ribs."_

"_Your scrolls are squishing my arm, Dragon."_

"_This is __really__ troublesome."_

Raven sighed.

"_This is going to take a while,"_ Eagle murmured. Raccoon twitched in annoyance as he began to use his sand and unceremoniously lifted all the members from the pile and dumped them on the ground a few metres away from each other.

"_Will you stop acting stupid?"_ Raven finally hissed. _"Fox, you're supposed to be captain and yet you insist on acting like a child. Even an Academy student would know better."_ Fox winced at Raven's choice of words.

"_Always so blunt,"_ Fox mumbled.

"_Everyone! Look!" _Dragon cried excitedly. The other ninja followed her gaze and found themselves staring at a huge castle, a dark silhouette against the night sky. Dumbledore smiled.

"_Welcome,"_ he said, _"to Hogwarts."_

End chapter.

**Yay! First chapter done! So guys, how did I do? For this story I would REALLY love reviews. Your reviews tell me that people out there are actually reading it. If no one reviews, then I won't update coz I think that no one wants to read this.**

**Feel free to point out any mistakes I have made in this chapter and how I can make the story better. And if you're gonna flame me, please do so nicely and don't make me feel depressed.**

**QUESTION: what is the difference between 'shinobi', 'nin' and 'ninja'?**

**I have absolutely no idea. Could you guys please explain? All I know is that they all mean 'ninja' or something like that…**


	2. Life at Hogwarts

**Hi everyone! I'm back with a new chapter.**

**Muhwahahaha! I've only had this story up for two days and I already got SEVEN reviews! *happy smile* and because of this, I had an urge to give you guys another chapter ****five days earlier than I planned because I'm nice that way. **

**My reviewers: ShadowsBloodPain, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, Afoxnamedrose, ****SiriusBalisticPretzels****, Lilsis1232 and**** Bloody Rose****! Thanks to you all. You made my day.**

**Also, extra thanks to ShadowsBloodPain because you were my first reviewer!**

**And some more thanks to all the people who favourited and alerted. If you can, please review. It makes me feel better ^.^**

**And even more thanks to all the people who answered my question last chapter about the ninja shinobi and nin thing. **

**Now that all the thanks are out of the way, here's Chapter Two. **

**Chapter Two: Life in Hogwarts**

(...)

"_We're in a place called Hogsme__ade,"_ Dumbledore said as he led the masked shinobi through the empty streets. Even he, a wizard who had seen more than any normal man could wish for in his lifetime, still found it uncanny that the ninja could walk with absolute silence. Although it was obvious that he was surrounded by the shinobi, all he heard was the sound of his own robes rustling. It was certainly unnerving. They were like ghosts.

The ninja slipped in and out of the shadows as they walked, seemingly part of the darkness; only their paper white masks portraying its snarling animals and silver armour stood out in the black. Dumbledore guessed that the shinobi had been trained to be one with the shadows, and continued to do so without consciously realizing it. It was a habit drilled into them from their harsh training.

The ninja and Dumbledore reached Hogwarts and entered its grounds. They went into the Entrance Hall and pushed open the heavy oak doors that lead to the Great Hall. Greeting them inside were a row of teachers, all with the same, identical disapproving looks on their faces.

"_Are they the staff?"_ Dog whispered.

"_Obviously,"_ Stag yawned. Dog shot him a glare which he pretended not to notice.

"These are the shinobi I took the liberty of hiring," Dumbledore said after greeting the teachers. The ninja stared at him, not understanding the words that came out of his mouth.

"_Nani? What did the old man say?"_ Fox asked.

"_I believe he is talking in a language called English,"_ Cat whispered. Hinata, or in this case, Cat, had long ago lost her stutter, although when she was under pressure it returned, and she seemed to be a little more outgoing, but she was still quiet and shy. She no longer fainted around Naruto either, but still retained her blush.

"_Gomenasai. I will cast a spell on you regarding the language barrier,"_ Dumbledore said. He waved his wand over the group.

"This is so cool!" Swan exclaimed.

"You can freely switch between Japanese and English," Dumbledore said. "So, with that little problem solved, may I introduce you to the teachers of Hogwarts?" He then went on and named the staff (too many for me to remember, but he definitely introduces ALL of them).

"Identify yourselves." A man with black hair and a hooked nose stepped forward. The shinobi remembered his name to be Severus Snape. Fox glared at him, but spoke.

"Fox. Captain of this mission."

"Raccoon. Second-in-command." The teachers raised their eyebrows at the gourd he was carrying.

"Raven. Third-in-command."

"Stag. Advisor and strategist."

"Eagle. Scout."

"Cat. Scout."

"Dog. Scout. And this is my partner Akamaru. He is also a scout."

"Dragon. Weapons mistress."

"Slug. Medic."

"Swan. Medic."

"Please reveal your faces," a teacher by the name of McGonagall said. She seemed to be one of the most disapproving of the teachers. Her lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Sorry. No can do. Our faces remain masked until Fox says so," Raven stated icily, not sounding very sorry at all. Dumbledore shooed the teachers away and closed the doors behind them. After making sure they had all gone, Dumbledore faced them again. Glancing at their captain, they received a nod. The ninja lowered the masks from their face and then proceeded to say their real names.

"Delighted to meet you all," Dumbledore said cheerfully after they had introduced themselves. He hid his surprise at how young they were behind a bright smile, but he knew that Hogwarts would be in safe hands.

(...)

The ninja spent the week before term started lounging around in Hogwarts castle. After getting over their shock at seeing pictures move, the ninja had then proceeded to memorise the rough layout of the castle, particularly the four house common rooms. Dumbledore had given them the passwords, and they entered and went as they pleased.

On their first day, Dumbledore had shown Fox their quarters for the year, and that night, he presented them to his friends.

"Guys, follow me," Fox called. The shinobi raised their eyebrows but followed their captain. He led them through corridors and hallways, finally halting to a stop in front of a blank wall.

"Uh, Fox, that's a wall," Swan said blankly.

"Yeah, yeah, just wait," Fox said. "Um, the password is… ah yeah, got it." Fox glared at the wall and said clearly, "Gokage." Immediately, a door appeared on the wall, and Fox grasped the ornate handle and opened it.

The shinobi followed their captain inside, and they were greeting with a room that looked a little like the Gryffindor common room, except it wasn't all red (A/N I like to call it the Ninja Common Room). There were long banners that hung from the ceiling, showing the symbols of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. On a wall, there was a map of the Ninja Continent and on the opposite wall, a map of Hogwarts Castle. Leading from the Ninja Common Room was a kitchen which had ramen, to Fox's delight, and complete with all the kitchen necessities. Upstairs, there were two bathrooms, one for girls and one for boys, and two dorms, all with six beds in each.

"In the bathroom, there is a laundry basket. Dumbledore-san said that if you put your dirty clothes and armour in there, close the lid, and then open it again, the clothes will be clean again," Fox explained.

"I like this place," Dragon said after inspecting everything.

"Nice, isn't it?" Fox said happily. The ninja made small sounds of agreement.

"Okay, back to business," Raven said coldly. Fox made a face under his mask.

"Always a spoilsport," he muttered. "All right, go back to whatever the hell you were doing before this." The ninja scattered, leaving Fox alone.

Over the next few days, the shinobi had most of the castle memorised, and then started doing their own little things. Stag spent most of his time sleeping while Eagle meditated with Dragon. Swan, Cat and Slug liked to go and spar in the Quidditch pitch and Raven was always found at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, trying to improve his techniques and kunai throwing. Dog and Akamaru spent their time training in the Forbidden Forest and could be out hours at an end. Raccoon liked to walk around the castle upside down (don't ask me why). Fox spent his time exploring the castle and attempting to talk to the teachers. Most of the time, though, he only got one word answers.

In the Shinobi Quarters, the ninja were free to remove their masks, don normal clothes and call each other by their names. They had made dinner in their Quarters for five days now, although they were free to go down to the Great Hall and eat.

Naruto, being Naruto, had managed to piss of all five boys that shared the dorm with him. It was the sixth morning of their stay at Hogwarts, and Naruto had, strangely enough, woken up first and went down to the common room. Later, everyone had woken up, and Gaara, Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru and Neji walked down the stairs, all looking as though they wanted to strangle the blonde. Ino, Hinata, Sakura and Tenten all raised their eyebrows at the boys' strange behaviour.

"Naruto," Neji growled. The said boy jumped to his feet and grinned when he saw his fellow ninja and completely NOT grasping the mood of the situation, being the obnoxious and dense guy that he was when reading moods.

"What's up with you guys? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Naruto joked cheerfully. The sound of five jaws being clenched was heard throughout the room.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Gaara snapped. "Because _someone_ I know was sleep-walking last night and decided to use a few of his techniques on me while I was asleep."

"Huh? Who?" asked Naruto, clueless as ever.

"He means you," Kiba hissed. "Naruto, do you know you sleep-walk, sleep-talk and sleep-fight?"

"Uh, no," Naruto said. "I do that?"

"Yeah, and last night was especially bad," Sasuke grumbled. "You've been doing it every night since we got here, but normally you just kinda moan and punch your pillows, but last night was just terrible."

"You made about five shadow-clones and decided to make them hang me upside down," Gaara snarled.

"A few of you tried to Rasengan me out of my bed," Kiba said. "Thank god Akamaru woke me up."

"And you yourself went over to me and attempted to punch my lights out," Sasuke said, glaring at the blonde.

"One of your shadow-clones tried to poke me in the eye," Shikamaru reported.

"But the lazy bastard kicked him in the balls and the clone disappeared and then he went back to sleep," Neji said. "And another one of your clones woke me up and used the Sexy no jutsu on me, but then I Gentle Fisted it."

"And you were yelling at the top of your voice about how you were going to challenge us to a duel and beat us," all five boys said simultaneously.

"All in all, we didn't get much sleep," Sasuke said. "We were all trying to protect ourselves from you."

"Do you know how long it takes me to get to sleep?" Gaara groaned. "It takes me ages, and I finally dropped off only to be woken up by some stupid blonde by the name of Naruto."

"I have no idea how the girls slept through that racket," Kiba said, gritting his teeth.

"Well, why didn't you wake me up?" Naruto protested.

"Naruto, you are a really deep sleeper," Gaara sighed. Naruto was silent for a few seconds.

"Ah, so that's why all of you guys have these shadows under your eyes," Naruto finally said, "and that's why the dorm looked a mess when I woke up." The ninja sighed and face-palmed.

"Looks like you boys have got it rough," Tenten laughed.

"You should strap him to his bed," Sakura suggested.

"That's a good idea," Ino giggled.

"Anyone want breakfast?" Hinata asked, completely changing the subject. They all smiled (most of them) and headed to the kitchen.

(…)

"Hi Gaara," Naruto said. He stood in the doorway of the dorm and watched as the Kazekage lazed around on his bed and made little figures out of sand with his raccoon mask sitting on the desk. Naruto entered.

"Naruto," Gaara said. Naruto bounced over and jumped on his bed.

"Watcha doing?" Naruto peered at the little sand figurines which had become as hard as steel.

"Trying to find out how much I can solidify and strengthen my sand," Gaara said. He made another figure; Shukaku.

"That really does look like him," Naruto said, picking it up. Gaara gave him a half smile.

"You know, at first I felt lonely without Shukaku talking to me in my head," Gaara said, referring to the time when he had been rescued from the Akatsuki. He had died while losing Shukaku, but then Chiyo had brought him back to life. "But then I realised that I felt something stronger."

"What was that?" Naruto asked. Gaara smiled truly now.

"I felt free." Naruto grinned, but said nothing. The two sat in companionable silence for a while, until they felt the chakra of Kiba and Akamaru outside the door.

"Dinner," was all Akamaru said. Naruto jumped up, but then instantly sat back down again when he remembered that all the ramen cups were finished and that he would have to eat something else. Gaara sighed, guessing what was on his mind.

"Let's just go, Naruto," Gaara said. "Besides, it's your fault for eating all of them. We'll ask Dumbledore-san where we can get some more." Naruto pouted.

"I want ramen," Naruto whined, sounding a lot like a child. Gaara stared at him for a few moments, and then smirked. The ninja downstairs heard a few screams and shouts coming from the bedrooms and they paused in their activities to see what was going on.

"OKAY! OKAY! I'M COMING! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS ME! I'M SORRY! I'LL COME! DON'T KILL ME JUST LET ME GOOOOO!" Sakura popped her head out of the kitchen.

"Why does that sound like Naruto?" she groaned. Ino smirked.

"Maybe because it is," Hinata mumbled.

"Hinata, it's called sarcasm," Ino laughed, lightly punching the blue-haired girl's shoulder.

"Na. Ru. To." Sakura growled. Hinata raised an eyebrow but continued making dinner.

"They are going to wreck this place soon," Ino said. Hinata laughed in agreement.

The two ninja's eyes followed their teammate as she darted up the stairs.

"YOU STUPID _BAKA_! QUIT MAKING SUCH A HUGE RUCKAS WHILE EVERYONE IS TRYING TO WORK!" Sakura's voice was heard by everyone in the Quarters. Ino and Hinata giggled. Back up in the dorm, Sakura was fuming at Naruto who looked as though Doomsday was approaching.

"Sakura, let him go," Gaara said. "Besides, it's not as if we're all doing important stuff. We're just lazing around." Sakura glared at him before dumping Naruto on the ground, leaving him bruised and bloodied.

"Gaara! Please explain to me why the HELL Naruto was dangling from the ceiling while you were making your sand look like a ghost," Sakura said through clenched teeth. Gaara shrugged.

"He wouldn't shut up," Gaara said tonelessly, "about ramen."

"Hey! You silly _tanuki_! Would you stop saying everything in that bored voice of yours? At least try to sound more enthusiastic or something," Naruto said, rubbing his head. "You're gonna start sounding like Sasuke-teme." Gaara didn't turn to look at him or even acknowledge that he had spoken, but everyone heard the thud Naruto made when he hit the ground face-first, pushed to the floor by a fist of sand.

"I'm going down to eat," Raccoon said. Shikamaru was sitting at in the common room staring out the window to the clouds and was amused to hear everything that went on upstairs, and even more amused when Gaara came down the stairs acting as though nothing had happened, followed by Naruto who was limping and groaning, with Sakura bring up the rear, cracking her knuckles and quietly threatening the blonde. Then again, they always acted like this.

"Geez, what's with the noise?" Kiba moaned as he slumped down on one of the chairs. Akamaru plopped down next to him. "You guys know that you were splitting my ears?"

"Ehehe. Sorry Kiba," Sakura said sheepishly. "Some _idiots_" – she shot Gaara and Naruto a glare – "were being stupid and I had to go and straighten them out." Kiba glanced at Naruto, who turned away with a huff, and Gaara, who met his gaze head-on.

Back in the girl's dorm, Neji and Tenten were relaxing and doing absolutely nothing, despite the fact that Neji, by an unspoken rule, should not be in the girl's dorm, strictly speaking.

"Seems like Naruto and Sakura have shut up," Neji said. He and Tenten had abandoned their masks, tossing them into a corner. Tenten grinned.

"They really are loud," she commented. A silence fell between them as they simply enjoyed being in each other's company. Tenten read a book about different types of weapons over the ages while Neji was looking at the mission scroll.

"Do you think we should go down to eat?" Tenten asked. Neji nodded. He got up first, and without thinking, he stretched out his hand towards her. Inside his mind, Neji was screaming _Oh my god what the hell am I doing?_ But it was too late to draw his hand back now without the gesture looking awkward. Tenten glanced at him, surprised, but then she smiled and took it. After a second, he pulled her to her feet. The contact was brief, and he let go after that, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Neji wanted it to last longer.

_Baka. Stop thinking these weird thoughts,_ Neji scolded himself. _I'm on a mission. I have to focus on the mission, I can't get sidetracked._ Little did he know that Tenten, who was walking by his side, was thinking the exact same thing.

End chapter.

**There you ****go! Chapter Two done. I put the little Tenten x Neji scene in there by impulse, and I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I was trying to make them get together and at the same time trying not to make them seem OOC. So, how did I do?**

**QUESTION: which sounds better, courting or dating?**

**E.g. Neji was ****courting**** Tenten**

**or**

**Neji was ****dating**** Tenten**

**Again, please review. It really makes my day. You can point out little mistakes I've made, ask me questions, give me anything to improve my writing, but just don't flame me too bad. I **_**can**_** get burned, you know.**

**So if any of you, by some strange reason, still don't know who the people are behind the masks, just put it in your review or something and I'll message you back. **

**Well, Saturn out!**


	3. Aboard the Hogwarts Express

***Silence***

***More silence***

***Even more silence***

**Wow...**

**You guys really know how to make an author happy... **

**I open my email box one day, not expecting much, and then my mouth drops open again. Because the first quarter of my inbox was FILLED with emails telling me that various people had favourited, alerted and reviewed me and my story.**

**You guys have no idea how happy I was.**

**Thank you so much! Even though only about four actual reviews, I still got so thrilled when I saw the favourites and alerts that people did. **

**And so, my thanks: ShadowsBloodPain****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****howlingwindofthestorm****, ****SiriusBalisticPretzels**

**Some lines in this chapter and future chapters may have lines taken directly from the book 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'. Just warning you *grin***

**And to clear things up: the teachers HAVE NOT seen the ninja's faces. Only Dumbledore has.**

**I'm sorry about this ****ridiculously long Author's Note, but I just wanted to express me shocked-ness. **

(…)

"There is something I need to discuss with you," Dumbledore said as he sat down in his circular office. The ten ninja gathered in front of his desk, their posture erect and they made no noise.

"This year we are hosting the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore said. "This is where three magical schools come and compete in three tasks, each with one student as their representative, called champions. The champions awarded the most points by the judges will receive the Triwizard Cup and one thousand Galleons."

The ninja stood in silence as they tried to take in this vital piece of information which had come so quickly and so suddenly.

"The Triwizard Tournament hasn't been held for over a century because there was such a high risk of death," Dumbledore said. "Now, we are reintroducing it, but there is an age limit. The students entering must be over seventeen years old."

"What are the names of the schools competing?" Fox asked.

"They are Beauxbatons and Durmstrang," Dumbledore said, "both foreign schools." The ANBU nodded their understanding.

"Alright, and you want us to also guard this tournament?" Dragon clarified.

"Yes. I will, of course, pay extra," Dumbledore said.

"Hokage-sama will be pleased," Stag said. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Of course she will," he smiled.

(…)

The sound of rain echoed throughout the castle. The shinobi huddled inside their quarters and jumped in surprise when the headmaster entered the common room. They hadn't felt his presence. The ninja acknowledged him with various greetings, including an overly enthusiastic one from their captain, nods, smiles and normal 'hello's.

"Today you will be starting your guarding mission," Dumbledore said. "Harry will be on the Hogwarts Express and you are to protect him for the whole of the train journey, as well as guard the rest of the train." Naruto nodded.

"We know," he said. Dumbledore inclined his head and left the Shinobi Quarters, and Naruto turned back to his crew.

"Sasuke-teme will be guarding first," Naruto said, grinning. "The rest can protect everyone else."

"What? Why am I the one stuck with babysitting?" Sasuke hissed.

"Because I'm captain and I say so," Naruto said cheekily. "Now, everyone, get changed."

"Be more mature, Naruto," Shikamaru sighed. The shinobi left and went back up to their dorms. There, they pulled on their black clothes, bright silver armour, swords and finally, of course, their animal masks.

They met Dumbledore outside the Shinobi Quarters and the headmaster led them outside onto the lawn where the ninja could clearly see the Whomping Willow. They got thoroughly soaked within seconds, but they ignored the rain, barely noticing it.

"You will be travelling there by portkey," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a rather uninteresting-looking, but now soggy, tissue box. "And the rest you know." Fox saluted the headmaster cheerily.

"Okay everyone," he said brightly, "stick your fingers on." Raven rolled his eyes.

_"Dobe,"_ he scoffed. Fox stiffened.

"_Teme,"_ Fox replied.

"_Dobe."_

"_Teme."_

"_Stupid."_

"_Idiot."_

"_Pain-in-the-ass."_

"_Arrogant bastard."_

"Shut up," Eagle said, losing his patience. "Just put your finger on." Fox and Raven glared at the Hyuga prodigy before obliging, and a few seconds later, they were whisked away.

Later…

"Ow," Raccoon grunted. He would have landed on his feet, but unluckily for him, he was buried under the bodies of six shinobi. "Guys, get the hell off."

"_Gomenasai,"_ Cat said and she poked Dog to get off her legs. Everyone was on their feet again and Fox helped Raccoon up.

"You'd think that you guys would have gotten used to travelling by portkey," Stag said. He had landed upright and was standing with Raven and Eagle.

"This is only the second time," Dragon protested.

"Hey… where have we landed?" Swan asked suddenly. The ninja looked around and found that they were standing in the shadow of a wall, shielded by curious eyes.

"Hmm, well, this must be where the Hogwarts Express is," Slug said.

"Hey, what is that thing?" Dog asked. Everyone looked to where the dog nin was staring, and found themselves face to face with a giant metal object. It was belching out smoke and the chaos surrounding it was deafening. Akamaru whined and wrinkled his nose. Apparently the smoke was making his nose sting.

Actually, all the ninja felt like that. They didn't like this thing, which they had identified as a train. It was smelly, noisy and unnatural.

"It stinks," Fox coughed.

"We should do a henge until we get to the castle," Slug suggested. The ninja nodded and henged into average-looking Hogwarts students wearing Muggle clothing.

"Has anyone seen Potter-san?" Cat asked. Dumbledore had given them his picture before they had left, and the shinobi had managed to memories his features.

"Is that him?" Raccoon said, pointing at a black-haired boy with round glasses.

"Should be," Eagle said. The ninja saw a large family of redheads surrounding their target. Harry Potter and his friends went aboard the train and the shinobi followed. About a few seconds later, the train started to move.

(…)

"I… don't like this," Swan said. The guards were currently standing in the corridor of the train and were trying to get used to the vehicle's motions. They quickly found out that trains made a lot of noise, from the sound of the wheels on the tracks to the train's whistle to the rattling of the carriages.

"Raven, move it," Fox ordered, referring to their charge. Raven sighed before moving off to Harry Potter's carriage.

Harry Potter hadn't found a carriage yet, and so Raven body-flickered past unsuspecting students to the only empty one left. He sat down and attempted to erase the annoyed look on his face.

He had changed his hair to brown and spiky and made his skin more tanned. He was wearing a T shirt and jeans. Nothing special.

He waited, and a few minutes later, his charge opened the door and entered, followed by his two friends. Harry Potter didn't even notice the stoic boy until Raven started to exude an air of pure coldness.

"Oh," said Hermione in surprise. "I'm sorry, we didn't see you. May we sit here?" Raven nodded. They sat, and the atmosphere was a mix of freezing silence and awkwardness.

"Um, my name is Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley and that's Harry Potter," Hermione said, attempting to break the silence in the carriage. Raven almost raised an eyebrow. Were all wizards this friendly?

Raven didn't attempt to answer the girl and instead shot her a glare that said '_I really don't give a shit'._ Hermione went pink and Raven ignored the threatening look he received from Ron.

"Dude must be a Slytherin," he heard Ron mutter to Harry, not aware that Raven could hear everything that he had said. Harry nodded and began talking with his friends to steer the conversation away from the 'Slytherin' boy.

They chatting about stuff Raven didn't give a damn about, including hiding schools from Muggles and talking about some sport called Quidditch. A few boys dropped in, all evidently friends of Harry's. Although Raven got strange looks from the newcomers, nobody said a thing. While Raven didn't join in on the conversation, he heard a lot just by listening.

He found out that the round-faced boy was named Longbottom Neville, another boy was called Finnigan Seamus and the last was called Thomas Dean. Before long, however, another student came along, and Raven knew instantly that they were trouble. Well, not really trouble, but they would become an annoyance. He had blonde hair that was almost white, a pointed chin and on his face, a arrogant sneer. Standing behind him were what looked like two obese baboons.

"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," said Harry coolly.

_Ah, so his name is Malfoy,_ Raven thought.

The newcomer raised an eyebrow before something caught his eye in the carriage.

"Weasley… what is that?" said Malfoy, pointing to Pigwidgeon's cage. Raven didn't like the tiny owl; it was too noisy and acted like Naruto on a sugar high.

A sleeve of Ron's dress robe was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train, the mouldy lace cuff very obvious. Ron made to stuff the robes out of sight, but Malfoy was too quick for him, he seized the sleeve and pulled.

"Look at this," said Malfoy in ecstasy, holding up Ron's dress robe and showing it to his two baboons. "Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean, they were very fashionable in about 1890…"

"Eat dung, Malfoy," said Ron, the same colour as the dress robe as he snatched them back from Malfoy's grip. Malfoy howled with derisive laughter; the two baboons guffawed stupidly.

"You better get out of here before I lose my temper. I'm getting sick of your damn-annoying voice and the two baboons behind you who look as though they don't know the difference between 'I'm gonna kill you soon' and 'you're going to die'," Raven finally hissed out between clenched teeth. The Hogwarts students jumped; they had totally forgotten about him.

"And who might you be?" Malfoy sneered.

"Someone who's going to make your life a living hell if you don't get your butt-ugly face out of this compartment," Raven said coldly. "And take your baboons with you."

"I'll tell my father about this," Malfoy said, affronted.

"Go on; tell him, I really don't give a damn. Just go," Raven said. Malfoy disappeared along with his two cronies. Raven had managed to get a better look at the two thugs behind him, and was surprised to see that they weren't baboons, just two people who looked as though they had about the same brain capacity as an ant.

Harry wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or not. He seriously wanted to laugh after seeing the 'Slytherin' boy deal with his arch enemy, but then, the 'Slytherin' boy in person looked as though he wanted to rip someone's head off.

"Picking fights already?" asked a playful voice by the door. Harry glanced up again and saw a girl with long red hair and emerald green eyes (Slug).

Unknown to the wizards, Raven was trying to get Slug to switch places with him. He looked at her silently and said clearly with his onyx eyes: _if you do not switch places with me I am going to lose my mind._ Slug sighed inwardly. She jerked her head to the door and Raven stood up, relieved to be free.

"Get Dog to swap with me," Raven said outside, "I don't want to stay in the same compartment as the brats, it's suffocating."

"Stop being such a drama king," Slug said. Raven met the other guards up on the roof of the train, all using their chakra to stick to the top.

"How was the babysitting?" Fox asked. Raven glared at him and dropped his henge, turning back into his ANBU gear and mask.

"Boring," he said, "although there are some boys that may be an eyesore to us." Fox cocked his head.

"Oh?" he asked, grinning beneath his mask, "do say."

"Some _gaki_ called Malfoy and his two thugs, I think their names were Crabbe and Goyle," Raven said.

"Why are we all out here anyway?" Eagle grumbled. "It's so wet." The rain still hadn't eased up, and the shinobi were all dripping.

"Heh, good point," Stag said.

"Can I go back inside? I don't like water," Raccoon said. His sand armour had peeled off.

"Fine, everyone, back into the train," Fox sighed. "Well, at least we have Cat and the brick wall to tell us if anything is wrong."

"Who are you calling a brick wall?" Eagle asked. The guards dropped into the corridor, managing to stay out of sight of the students.

"We still have another hour or so," Dragon said.

"We can use that time to get dry," Swan said. She squeezed water out of her long blonde hair; all the ninja had dropped their henge, not bothering to keep it up.

The shinobi slipped into a compartment reserved just for them at the front of the train, leaving Cat to guard the train and Dog lurking just outside Harry Potter's compartment to keep an eye on him.

Stag, and surprisingly Fox, sat and played shogi. Fox, unsurprisingly, was losing badly. Slug was reading a scroll on medicinal jutsu and Swan was studying another one. Raven was staring at the wall opposite him, and Eagle was staring out the window with Dragon reading a book on weapons beside him. Raccoon was reading the mission scroll, his eyes jade green eyes running up and down, making sure nothing had been missed.

The sound of pounding rain eventually dulled Stag to sleep, and Fox was trying to kill time by going out to chat to Cat every once in a while, seeing as the people in his compartment were either busy or did not want to talk at all. As the students did not normally venture out of their compartments, the shinobi didn't have to henge or anything. Lucky them.

Half an hour later, Dog switched places with Swan, and Cat switched places with the brick wall, meaning Eagle. At around ten minutes until their destination, the ninja heard the flurry of robes and the sounds of people getting changed. They sighed; finally, they could get off the train. Although the shinobi had adjusted to it over the past hour or so, they still didn't like something that could move independent of its will.

(…)

The train finally slowed down and stopped at Hogsmede station. The doors opened and students scrambled out into the pouring rain, which felt like ice buckets of water was being poured repeatedly onto their heads. Harry noticed ten slight shadows in the rain, but they sped to the castle so quickly that he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

"Hi, Hagrid," Harry yelled, seeing a gigantic silhouette at the far end of the platform.

"All righ', Harry?" Hagrid bellowed back, waving. "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown!" First years traditionally reached Hogwarts castled by sailing across the lake with Hagrid.

"Oooh, I wouldn't fancy crossing the lake in this weather," Hermione said fervently, shivering. The trio inched across the platform slowly until they reached around a hundred horseless carriages. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville reached one gratefully and climbed into it, shutting the door with a snap. A few moments later, there was a great lurch and the carriages set off by themselves, rumbling and splashing its way up to Hogwarts.

End chapter.

**Okay, another chapter done. **

**Okay people, I change my mind. DO NOT flame me, because I'll be burned and then who's gonna write this story?**

**Updates will now be every five – seven days. I only put the first three chapters up so quickly because I was (and still am) excited :D**


	4. Announcement

**I could cry. ****Really cry. In happiness. **

**There are so many supportive people out there. ****I got more reviews (hehehe) and although I got over that flaming evaluation (sort of) it still made me feel better when people reviewed and told me to 'ignore flamers' and everything. **

**Let's see... my reviewers: howlingwindofthestorm****, Afoxnamedrose, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****CyberSleepy****, ****ShadowsBloodPain**

**Thank you, everyone. **

**Chapter Four: Announcement**

(…)

Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive the carriage trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale. Leaning against the window, Harry could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind a thick curtain of rain. Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle; Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit Entrance Hall, with its magnificent marble staircase.

"Blimey," said Ron, shaking his head and sending water everywhere, "if that keeps up, the lake's going to overflow. I'm soak – ARGH!"

A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Ron's head, and exploded. Drenched and spluttering, Ron staggered sideways into Harry, just as a second water bomb dropped – narrowly missing Hermione, it burst at Harry's feet, sending a wave of cold water over his trainers into his socks. People all around them shrieked and started pushing each other in their efforts to get out of the line of fire – Harry looked up, and saw, floating a few metres above them, Peeves the poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow-tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!"

Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress and Head of Gryffindor house, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself falling. "Ouch – sorry, Miss Granger –"

"That's all right, Professor," Hermione gasped, massaging her throat.

"Peeves, get down here NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upwards through her square-rimmed glasses.

"Not doing nothing," cackled Peeves, lobbing a water bomb at several fifth year girls, who screamed and dived into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived.

"I shall call the Headmaster!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "I'm warning you, Peeves -"

Peeve stuck out his tongue, threw the last of his water bombs into the air, and zoomed off up the marble staircase, cackling insanely.

"Well, move along, then!" said Professor McGonagall sharply to the bedraggled crowd. "Into the Great Hall, come on!" Harry, Ron and Hermione slipped and slid across the Entrance Hall and through the double doors on the right, Ron muttering furiously under his breath as he pushed his sopping hair off his face.

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden Plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in mid-air. The four long house tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in here. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked past the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, next to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. Pearly white and semi-transparent, Nick was dressed tonight in his usual doublet, with a particularly large ruff, which served the dual purpose of looking extra festive and ensuring that his head didn't wobble too much on his partially severed neck.

"Harry," Hermione whispered. "Why is there an extra table?" She pointed over to the head of the Gryffindor table, where a long table seating around fifteen stood in the corner facing diagonally to the students, which ensured that all the table members could see the four house tables and the High Table. Harry shrugged.

"Extra guests?" he suggested. Hermione frowned, but said nothing about it for a while. Harry was greeted enthusiastically by Colin Creevey, who said that his younger brother was starting Hogwarts this year.

"Oh, hurry up," Ron moaned, beside Harry. "I could eat a Hippogriff." The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened, and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. Professor McGonagall placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched wizard's hat.

(…)

Far above, in the almost invisible rafters of the Great Hall, the ten ninja crouched, hidden and silent. Stag saw that Fox hadn't noticed the ghosts yet, even though he had already been here for a week. Stag mentally slapped his forehead, wondering how Fox could miss the pearly and transparent (almost) beings. He wondered how long it would take Fox to notice them.

The doors of the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall entered carrying a three legged stool and a ragged Hat, followed by a line of tiny first years who looked as though they had just gone swimming and had forgotten to dry off. Professor McGonagall placed the stool in front of the High Table and put the Hat on top of it. All the students and teachers stared at the Hat, expectant.

The shinobi stared at the ragged Hat and raised invisible eyebrows as the Hat opened its mouth and began to sing.

- Hat sings song –

"Did that Hat… just sing?" Dog asked slowly. Akamaru was waiting in a corner of the Great Hall, and despite being a huge white dog, he blended into the wall behind him almost perfectly. Must be a jutsu.

"Strange…" Raccoon mused.

"Hey, hey!" Fox said, his eyes sparkling behind his mask. The others groaned at this; they didn't like the look in his eyes. "When Dumbledore introduces us, we should do a flashy entrance!"

There was a silence as everyone stared at their captain.

"… Why not?" This answer came from the person least likely to respond and agree to it.

"Is Stag feeling alright?" Swan whispered in concern. "This isn't like him."

"Well, ninja aren't supposed to do flashy entrances…" Eagle said. "We're not supposed to draw attention to ourselves."

"I think it's a good idea," Cat said suddenly.

Fox grinned at her. "Now here's what we'll do…"

"Wait, Fox, we didn't even agree," Dragon interrupted but was ignored. Giving up, she listened to what Fox wanted them to do.

"Stupid," Raven mumbled but agreed all the same after hearing Fox's 'master' plan.

"Before we start out feast," Dumbledore said below them after the Sorting had finished, "I beg a few moments of your time." This perked the students' interest.

"I have taken the liberty of hiring Hogwarts a few guards. Do not worry; they won't be like the Dementors we had last year. But these guards are different, they are ninja. Ninja are neither Muggle nor wizard. They deal with wandless magic.

"The guards will stay here at Hogwarts until the end of the year. They have made up some rules that must be followed. I shall leave that up to them to announce," Dumbledore said. He then looked up to the ceiling of the Great Hall. "Guards, please come down."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then blurs began shooting around the Great Hall, making the candles stutter and flash. There was a gentle wind that ruffled Harry's hair, and swirls of sand and leaves danced around. They twisted around the front of the High Table, and began to thicken, blocking their view of the teachers. Everything became slow and sluggish, a little like being underwater. When the leaves and sand cleared, a line of guards stood, facing them all.

There were gasps from the students as they found themselves looking at the row of blank-faced guards, their eyes widening in shock.

Harry admitted that he found them creepy. Very creepy. They wore masks with that portrayed snarling animals over their faces. They wore black clothes, and over that, silver armour covered their bodies. On their shoulders were strange swirly tattoos. The tattoos were on the left shoulder for the males and the right shoulder for the females. Strapped to their backs were short swords, with the exception of one. He had something in the shape of a giant peanut, as well as his sword which was strapped parallel to the peanut-shaped thing. The first stepped forward.

"Fox. Captain. " He had spiky blonde hair, almost yellow. His bright blue eyes shone through the holes in the mask.

"Raccoon. Second-in-command." Raccoon was the one with the giant peanut. He had reddish-brown hair and pale green eyes looked out from underneath the holes in the mask.

"Raven. Third-in-command." Raven had dark blue hair that was almost black and onyx eyes. He exuded an aura of coldness.

"Stag. Advisor and strategist." Stag had black hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail, which resembled a pineapple. He was standing in a casual manner, indicating that he was lazy and didn't like to do much work.

"Eagle. Scout." Eagle had long chocolate brown hair which went down to about mid-back. Two shorter pieces of hair framed his face and he had pearly white eyes. He was lean and muscled, and, like Raven, had an atmosphere surrounding him that said: _Don't mess with me or you'll die._

"Cat. Scout." Judging from Cat's soft voice, she seemed to be shy. She had long blue hair, and fringe and bangs. She seemed to be the friendliest. She also had pearly white eyes.

"Dog. Scout. And this is my partner, Akamaru." Dog had brown hair, and on his mask were two red fang tattoos on its cheek. Akamaru was a massive white dog. Dog's eyes were slits instead of ovals, giving him a feral look.

"Dragon. Weapons Mistress." Dragon had brown hair tied up in two Chinese-style buns on either side of her head. She had warm chocolate eyes.

"Slug. Medic." Slug, strangely, had pastel pink hair and emerald green eyes. She waved when she said hello, and the students assumed that, like Cat, she was very friendly.

"Swan. Medic." Swan had long blonde hair and a long fringe that covered part of her mask and sapphire blue eyes.

Dumbledore began clapping, and the students followed suite, accompanied by large, excited chatter.

"Now, listen carefully. The guards have all the same rights as teachers, that includes taking points from any student, prefect or not, and they are allowed to give you detentions. They are more used to killing than not killing, so I advise you not to get on their bad side. Although they have orders from me to not kill anyone here, they may break one of your arms by accident," Dumbledore said, smiling. Why was he looking so damn happy?

"You may find them sometimes in your classroom and your common rooms. Do not be alarmed at this, they are just doing their jobs," Dumbledore said.

"At times, they may even overrule teachers." The teachers raised eyebrows at this. Dumbledore smiled. "And now, without further ado, let the feast begin."

The empty dishes magically filled with food, and Ron and Harry began eating immediately. Hermione watched as the shinobi sat down at the extra table.

"That's where they're sitting," Hermione said.

"Wow. Magic can do a lot of things," Fox said appreciatively as he stared at the food that wasn't there before. He looked around, and then…

"RAMEN!" Fox burst out. Everyone looked up at the Ninja Table. The ninja face palmed and looked down in embarrassment for their captain. One would think that as their captain, he would act more mature. But then again, this is Naruto we're talking about. Even hidden under his mask, he still hadn't lost his crazy personality.

"You are an ANBU. Act more mature," Swan said, rolling her eyes.

"I reckon twenty bowls," Stag said.

"Nah, he would probably eat around twenty five or thirty," Dog chuckled.

"What are you guys talking about?" Slug asked.

"How many bowls of ramen Fox is going to eat," Eagle said. The guards lifted their masks slightly so that their mouths were showing, and a second later, all the food on their plates disappeared. There were gasps from the students who had been trying to catch their faces.

"… nineteen… twenty… twenty one… twenty two… twenty three… twenty three bowls," Swan said. "So who won the bet?"

"Meh. It wasn't a bet, we were just estimating," Stag said.

"I can sense someone approaching the castle," Eagle said quietly, informing Fox. The captain perked up and darted over to Dumbledore's side and whispered the titbit of information into his ear. Dumbledore nodded and waved him away. The food vanished and was replaced with dessert.

"I know who is," Dumbledore murmured. Fox nodded and returned to his seat, one eye trained at the doors of the Great Hall. A clap of thunder echoed through the hall, lightning illuminating the grounds outside briefly.

Dumbledore got to his feet again, and instantly, all the chatter hushed until the only sound in the hall was the pounding of rain and the occasionally streaks of lightning. The food cleared, leaving the dishes clean and empty.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched.

He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you that all that the Forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students, particularly this year because that will be the guards' training grounds. That, and the Quidditch pitch. Also, Hogsmeade village is banned to all students below third year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

The ninja looked around as the students shifted about restlessly, talking to their neighbours and glancing up at the headmaster.

"_Ne, ne. What's Quidditch?"_ Fox whispered to Raven.

"A sport they play on flying brooms," Raven shrugged.

"_Teme._ That doesn't explain anything," Fox moaned.

Dumbledore continued, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts –"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder, and the doors of the Great Hall banged opened. The shinobi narrowed their eyes at the newcomer, but deemed him no threat as Dumbledore did not seem surprised. However, they still had a job to do, and a second later, Raccoon held the man in a cocoon of sand, leaving only his head uncovered. Fox held a kunai to his throat and Raven another kunai to the back of his neck.

"How did they get there so fast?" Harry whispered to his friends, glancing from the Ninja Table, which was at the front of the Hall, to the stranger, who was at the back of the Hall. Ron shook his head, his mouth open, staring at the guards and the newcomer.

"It can't be possible to move your body that fast," Hermione whispered. Everyone's head was swivelled to the stranger, and Dumbledore nodded to the guards, signalling them to let him go.

The sand slid away from him, revealing the man to be leaning on a long staff, shrouded in a black travelling cloak. He lowered his hood, shook out a long man of grizzled, dark grey hair, then began to walk up towards the teachers' table, sparing no glance to the shinobi, who appeared back at the Ninja Table.

A dull _clunk_ echoed through the Hall on his every on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right and limped heavily towards Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Harry had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces were supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of his skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth look like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye – and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it.

"Nice guards you've got here," the ninja heard the man mumble. Dumbledore nodded, and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right hand side.

The stranger sat down, shook his man of dark grey hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages towards him, raised it to what was left of his nose and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage to the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students, though it hovered for a second longer upon the Ninja Table.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," said Dumbledore brightly, into the silence. "Professor Moody."

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid. Both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his travelling cloak, pulled out a hip-flask and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and everyone saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat again.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly. The ninja raised unseen eyebrows at the twin who they recognised as the company that had surrounded Harry Potter at the train station.

The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr Weasley," he said, "though, now you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar –" Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er – but maybe this is not the time… no…" said Dumbledore. "Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament… well, some of you will not know what this Tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry – Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities – until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued.

"There have been several attempted over the centuries to reinstate the Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which have been very successful. However, our own Departments of International Magical Co-operation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that, this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contender in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – that is to say, seventeen years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" – Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious – "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over to Fred and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang…" as Dumbledore droned on, the ninja tuned out and turned to each other.

"_Okay, we have our quarters, but someone will have to stay in the Gryffindor common room to take care of Potter-san,__ and we may sometimes leaves one of us in Ravenclaw's, Hufflepuff's and Slytherin's common rooms just to see how they are going,"_ Fox said. _"And we need another two to patrol the castle, who will switch over with another pair at one o'clock in the morning."_

"_Me and Eagle can take the first patrol,"_ Dragon chirped. Eagle nodded slightly.

"_Okay, and on second watch, we can have Slug and Swan. I'll guard Potter-san tonight,"_ Fox said. _"Im going to assign some of you to the houses. Stag is assigned with Ravenclaw. Cat can go with Hufflepuff, Raven with Slytherin and I'll stay with Gryffindor. Tonight, we all have to explain the rules to them. To make sure the students of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin don't sneak out during the night, just put some traps in front of their common rooms."_

There was a great deal of scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet, and swarmed towards the double doors into the Entrance Hall.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Dog barked, his voice managing to raise above all the noise. The students quieted down and stopped, staring at Dog who was bounding forward on Akamaru. "We have to take you to your common rooms and explain the rules." Nodding at Fox, Cat, Stag and Raven, he let them take over.

"Please follow me," Cat said. The Hufflepuffs followed her obediently as she led them to where she knew their common room was. They went in quietly, and as Cat lead them along, she found them to be very polite and courteous.

Stag sighed, thinking how troublesome it was, and shouted for the Ravenclaws to keep up. The Ravenclaws were decidedly chattier than the Hufflepuffs, but kept their toe behind the line.

Raven found that the Slytherins were an annoying bunch, especially the Malfoy boy. He was pompous and arrogant, causing Raven to almost tear his hair out as he heard Malfoy gloating to his two baboons about something "father" did. Of course, he was a trained ninja, one of the elites and a member of ANBU, so he kept his emotions in check and stayed cool, calm and collected. That didn't stop him from plotting Malfoy's death, though.

"Gryffindor," Fox said, appearing in front of them. "Please follow me." He led them out of the Great Hall and to the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was discussing the Triwizard Tournament.

"Who's this impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are?" said Harry.

"Dunno," said Fred, "but it's them we'll have to fool. I recon a couple of drops of Ageing Potion might do it, George…"

"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though," said Ron.

"Yeah, but he's not he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he?" said Fred shrewdly. "Sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are. Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names."

"People have died, though!" said Hermione in a worried voice, as they walked through a door concealed behind a tapestry and started up another, narrower staircase.

"So?" Fox asked unconcernedly in front of them. They all jumped; they didn't know he was listening to their conversation. Hermione narrowed her eyes as he stared at Fox's back.

"Yeah, so what?" said Fred airily, "that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk? Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get round Dumbledore? Fancy entering?"

"From what I've seen, Dumbledore-san is a very wise man," Fox commented. "Whatever an Ageing Potion is, it sounds very basic and Dumbledore-san would probably have thought of that already."

"Er, right," said George, raising an eyebrow at Fox's back. Neville joined in on the conversation about the Triwizard Tournament, but then his foot sunk right through a step halfway up the stairs.

"I've never seen that before," Fox said, glancing down almost uncaringly at the trick step. In reality, he was analysing it. His analytical skills had improved over the years, although he was never as good as Shikamaru or Temari. Harry and Ron seized Neville under the armpits and pulled him out, while a suit of armour at the top of the stairs creaked and clanked, laughing wheezily.

"Shut it, you," said Ron, banging down its visor as they passed. Fox led them up to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, while the students milled around behind him.

"Balderdash," he said clearly. The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall, through which they climbed, Fox slipping in nimbly first. He stood in front of the fire and waited until all the Gryffindors had entered, and then he called for everyone's attention.

"Everyone!" Fox shouted. The room quieted instantly. "We have set out some rules we expect you to follow."

"Rule one," Fox said to the throng of Gryffindors. He looked at all of them before continuing. "You must all be in your common room by eight-thirty every night. That includes the weekend. Anyone found wandering around outside after curfew will be punished."

"Rule two," Cat said to the silent Hufflepuffs, "you all know this, but I shall repeat it again. The Forbidden Forest and the Quidditch pitch are banned. They will be our training areas. The only time you are allowed near the Forbidden Forest or the Quidditch pitch is when you have lessons there, though I highly doubt you will have lessons in the Quidditch pitch."

"Rule three," Stag said lazily to the Ravenclaws, "respect us and we will respect you. Oppose us and we will make your life a living hell."

In the Slytherin common room, Raven wasn't as nice to the students as the other three guards. He found that if he scared the Slytherins hard enough, then they would shut their mouths.

"Three rules," he said coldly. "Rule one: be in the common room by eight thirty or I'll kill you.

"Rule two: Forbidden Forest and Quidditch pitch are banned. If I find anyone near these two places, I'll kill you.

"Rule three: respect me, or I'll kill you."

He glared around for a second, and then said, "Go to bed." The Slytherins scrambled up to their dorms, and Raven darted out of the common room, set up traps outside and left to the Shinobi Quarters.

Stag, Cat and Fox set up traps outside their respective common rooms as well, and while Stag and Cat went to the Shinobi Quarters, Fox sighed and went back inside and slumped down on one of the squashy armchairs that sat in front of the fire, falling asleep, but kept his ears open, listening for sounds that indicated a student trying to sneak out.

(…)

The next day, seven o'clock in the morning

"Everyone!" Dog yelled excitedly as he burst into the Shinobi Quarters with Akamaru at his heels. The nine ninja all glanced up at him, alert, but then let their guard down once they saw that Dog was excited.

"Something wrong?" Fox asked cautiously.

"I found the kitchens!" Dog grinned. "Me and Akamaru were exploring the castle some more and we saw the two redhead twins going down a few corridors and we saw them go to a painting of a fruit bowl and then we saw them tickle and pear and then it laughed and then this door appeared and then they went inside and then we followed them and then we saw all these weird little creatures and then I heard one of them say "House elves" and IT WAS SO COOL!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Dog," Dragon laughed.

"Are you talking about the redhead twins that were with Potter-san when we first saw him?" Stag asked. Dog nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "They are really nice."

"Made friends already, eh?" Raven muttered.

"Wait… what were the twins doing out at seven o'clock in the morning?" Swan said, twisting around and glaring at her captain.

"Hm? I sent a shadow clone after them," Fox said. "It hasn't dispelled yet…"

"Oh, no wonder I saw you hanging around them," Dog said, frowning. "But why did you let them go?" Fox shrugged.

"You can learn a lot of things if you pay attention to the locals," Fox said. "The twins obviously know this castle well, so I decided to follow them, not stop them."

Fox dispelled his shadow clone, and his face cleared when he received the information it gathered.

"Yeah well, they've shown me the kitchens," Dog said, "even if it was unintentional."

"Can you take us there?" Raccoon asked, mildly curious.

"Sure. Come on!" Dog said. The ninja stood up and followed their enthusiastic friend out the door. Dog lead them down, down, down. Soon, the corridors were filled with pictures of food.

"They are really hospitable," Dog said. "When the twins asked for food, the house elves looked so happy."

"Is that it?" Slug asked, pointing to a picture of a fruit bowl.

"Yeah," Dog said. He stretched out a finger and tickled the pear.

It giggled.

"That is a strange fruit," Eagle said quietly.

"Hn," Raven said, glaring at the pear. A door appeared, and Dog opened it.

The shinobi's eyes widened slightly when they saw that the kitchen was as large as the Great Hall itself, with brass pots and pans hanging off the stone walls and a great brick fireplace at one end.

Standing before them were at least a hundred little elves, all with pencil-shaped noses, bright eyes the size of tennis-balls, bat-like ears, long fingers and feet and they all only went up to about the ninja's thigh.

They were wearing the same uniform; a tea-towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest, and tied like a toga.

The house elves looked immensely happy that there were people here, and they bowed and curtseyed as the ninja gazed around in wonder, seemingly not noticing their frightening masks, swords and armour.

"Um, good morning," Cat said. "We're sorry for bothering you this early in the morning."

"Good morning, sirs and ladies," squeaked a house elf with large green eyes. He was wearing an odd range of clothes, with a tea-cosy for a hat, pinned with a number of bright badges; a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, and socks. Completing the outfit were what looked like children's football shorts.

"Welcome to the Hogwarts Kitchens," another one said.

"Do not be sorry, we will be delighted to serve you," an elf said.

"Wow," Swan said. "Do you guys do all the cooking?"

The house elves smiled and nodded at her, their bat-like ears flapping.

"Do you have any food?" Stag asked lazily. Raccoon knocked him on the head.

"How much ruder can you get?" Raccoon asked flatly. But the house elves looked as though Christmas had come early, because they all smiled more brightly, and a second later, a tray of onigiri came whizzing towards them.

"This is delicious," Slug said after taking a bite. The elves looked delighted.

"Would you like some tea?" asked the elf who had greeted them.

"Yosh!" Fox said.

"Um, may I please ask your name?" Cat asked shyly, bending down to talk to the elf.

"Dobby, miss!" the elf cried. "Dobby at your service."

"My name is Cat. Pleased to meet you," Cat said, bowing down to him.

Dobby stared at her, and then burst into racking sobs. Cat was startled for a second.

"I-I'm sorry, what did I do?" she asked, bewildered. The other shinobi stifled snickers as they watched Cat try to calm the elf down.

"Professor Dumbledore has told us house elves about the new guards, but Dobby never knew they were so kind!" Dobby said, tears trickling down his face. "To be bowed down like that, oh, what an honour!"

Cat looked desperately at her friends, pleading for them to help her make Dobby stop crying. She also didn't have the heart to tell him that they normally bowed when being introduced.

"Uh, my name is Slug. It is also a pleasure to meet you," Slug said in an attempt to distract Dobby. But then she also made the mistake of bowing to Dobby.

Dobby raised his sparkling eyes, saw the pinkette bowing to him, and promptly burst into more sobs.

"Oops," Slug said. Swan clapped her hands under her mask to stop herself from laughing out loud. Most of the boys were getting served by the other house elves, and they were deaf to the commotion in front of them.

"We have to go," Raccoon said. "It's almost time for classes to start."

"Ah, well. We should get going now," Fox said. "Thanks for everything!" He had an exceptionally full stomach.

The little elves clustered around them, shoving food into their hands and waving goodbye. Cat and Slug bade farewell to the emotional Dobby.

"I shall see you again!" Dobby said. The ninja smiled and left the kitchens.

"They're quite courteous, aren't they?" Raven murmured as they walked back up again.

The ninja stopped walking, and they all looked at Raven.

"What?" he asked.

"_Teme_… he just said a full sentence," Fox said in wonder. He stalked over to the Uchiha and poked the forehead of his mask.

"Who are you and what have you done to Raven?" Fox asked suspiciously. Raven rolled his eyes.

"Hn."

"What? No! I liked you better when you were talking!" Fox yelled, grabbing Raven's shoulders and shaking him. "Don't go back to the emo bastard like before."

"Hn."

"No! No! Change back! Change back!"

"Hn."

"Argh! I give up on you!"

The others chuckled and returned to their quarters.

End chapter.

**Muhwahaha. This is quite a long chapter, no? ****Hope you guys enjoyed it. The you-can-decide-the-pairings thing is still on. I need people to tell me some pairings!**

**Tell me if you think I am ignoring certain characters or certain characters seem forgotten. I always try to give them the occasional speaking role**** or the spotlight, but as the author, I am sometimes blind to this and focus too much on a particular character.**

**Come on people! ****Review, it makes me feel better. Might make the updates come more quickly too… I may even have to do that annoying 'If you don't give me a certain amount of reviews, I will not update" thingy. **


	5. Starting Classes

**Just a message to a reviewer: ****BunrakuSy, Sorry, I would have PM-ed you, but your review was anonymous. So my reply: I'm planning to XP**

**Well, well, well. I guess that little threat at the end of the last chapter actually worked, eh? I gotta lots of reviews this time *very happy* thanks everyone.**

**They are: ****Cindar****, ****Mental Panda****, Spider's Thread** (actually, I don't need to thank her, she's just my annoying sister), **crystalmoon20****, ****SiriusBalisticPretzels****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****Venus914****, ****tenshi-no-akuma-81****, ****SaKuRa-Blossom29****, ****dattebayo4321****, ****x Dark Sin x****, ****BunrakuSy**

**Gaara: ****Okay, hurry up and get on with it.**

**SaturnXK****: WTF are you doing here? Get back in the story!**

**Gaara: I am the Kazekage. I get to do whatever I want.**

**SaturnXK****: Like hell you do.**

**Gaara: The authoress hasn't said this for a while because she's secretly hoping that Naruto will belong to her. It doesn't.**

**SaturnXK****: Yeah, yeah. Don't have to rub it in. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling**

**Oh, and before we begin, and just gotta say ****this: the arcs 'Five Kage Summit' and the 'Fourth Ninja World War' ARE FRICKIN EPIC! The latest chapter (ch. 535 ) was the one I've been waiting for all along! Naruto finally gets to know about the war and everything and now he's all pumped up and *squeals* you have no idea how excited I am and how eagerly I am waiting for the release of the next chapter.**

**Okay, now we can start.**

**Chapter Five: Star****ting Classes**

(…)

Fox, sitting at the breakfast table, almost shrieked as a pearly, almost-transparent ghost floated past him. But being the trained ANBU agent that he is, all he did was stiffen and pull out a kunai.

"Fox, it's okay, they're only ghosts," Cat said as the Bloody Baron drifted past them.

"Fox, how could you not notice them during the month we stayed here?" Stag asked.

"I just… didn't," Fox said, struggling not to scream after Nearly Headless Nick grinned at him.

"Make a scene, and your ass is going back to the ninja world," Slug hissed. Fox sweat dropped, but calmed down.

Raccoon entered the hall, walking on the ceiling, drawing gasps from the students below as they looked out for the morning post. The aura around the Kazekage was content, almost happy, and when Raccoon reached the spot directly above the Ninja Table, he dropped.

"Someone catch him!" Hermione screamed as she watched the figure fall. Before she could pull out her wand, however, Raccoon had already landed safely on the ground. The guards looked like nothing had happened.

"Why are you so happy today?" Fox asked suspiciously, staring at Raccoon.

"I got to train. It felt good to use my muscles again," Raccoon said. Ever since he joined the Konoha-Sunagakure ANBU alliance squad, he had had to learn more than just his sand techniques. He had been taught how to use the various weapons that the ANBU normally carried, including the weird sword that looked like someone had cut half of it off (A/N sorry, I forgot what it's called).

"Fox, have you done the mission report?" Swan asked, entering the Great Hall and body flickering over to the Ninja Table. Fox nodded.

"Yup," he said, "I just need to finalize a few details."

"Fox… actually finished the report…? On time…?" Dog said, amazed. He had appeared to hear the last bit of the conversation, arriving alongside Raven.

"Surprise indeed," Raven said.

"I'm finished here," Fox said. "Raccoon, can you tell everyone else what class they'll be following today?"

After receiving a confirmation from the redhead, he _poofed_ to the Shinobi Quarters.

(…)

"Naruto?" Hinata said, arriving at their quarters and seeing the blonde sitting there scribbling away on an armchair.

"Hi, Hinata," Naruto said, putting down the brush and rolling up the scroll.

"Do you know how to send it?" Hinata asked.

"Oh… well, I better to ask Dumbledore-san," Naruto said. "Wanna come?"

"Sure," Hinata said. She put her mask back on, thinking, _it's not as if I have anything better to do…_

(…)

"Good morning, Dumbledore-san," Fox said quietly out as he walked across the circular office. Dumbledore looked up and smiled at the ninja.

"Good morning, Captain Fox and Cat," he said warmly. "What may I do for you?"

"We're just wondering whether you know how to send this letter to Konoha," Cat said, gesturing to the scroll Fox had in his hand.

"But of course," Dumbledore said. He turned around and reached for a phoenix carved out of ebony on the shelf behind him. "Here, if you put a letter or scroll into its mouth, it will immediately teleport to Konoha and give this to your Hokage before teleporting back."

"Interesting, Dumbledore-san," Fox murmured, picking up the little bird and staring at it.

"Keep it in your quarters," Dumbledore smiled. "I believe you have to send a report every month?"

"Yes. Amazingly, Fox actually remembered to do it this time," Cat said.

"Why did that sentence make me sound so irresponsible?" Fox asked.

"Because you never used to do it," Cat said at once. Dumbledore chuckled at the two.

"Ah, we should get going. Thanks, Dumbledore-san," Fox said.

"Pleasure," Dumbledore said. The two guards walked out of the headmaster's office and outside, they clamped the scroll into the ebony phoenix's mouth. A second later, it disappeared with a _poof_.

"So, what do you want to do?" Fox asked.

"Train," she said truthfully. Fox grinned at her.

"Yeah, let's train! Where do you want to go, Quidditch pitch or Forbidden Forest?" Fox asked.

"Pitch," Cat answered. The two body-flickered to the pitch, marvelled at its vast size and then went into their fighting stances.

"Okay, get ready," Fox said. Cat lowered herself into her position, a kunai at the ready, her Byakugan activated behind her mask. "Start." The two ran towards each other and clashed in the middle. Sparks flew as their kunai met, and the two sprang apart.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Fox shouted. Five Narutos appeared and they all charged at the lone figure. Cat Gentled Fisted all of them and quickly found out that the real Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Dragon had been given the task of following around Harry Potter for the day. She dutifully kept five paces behind the trio, who were ignoring her, although Hermione kept looking at the guard as though she wanted to examine her. They walked to the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived at greenhouse three.

Professor Sprout stood there, smiling under her flyaway grey hair, and although she was a little averted to her, welcomed Dragon into the greenhouse as well.

"Why is she following us?" Hermione whispered, glancing at the guard. Professor Sprout then proceeded to distract them by showing them the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick black giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly, and had a number of large, shiny swelling upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.

"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout told them briskly. "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus –"

"The _what_?" said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted.

"Pus, Finnigan, pus," said Professor Sprout while Dragon muttered a "That's disgusting" behind her. "It's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves, it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, Bubotuber pus."

Dragon wrinkled her nose and almost gagged as the unfamiliar smell of petrol reached her trained nose. She observed with repulsed interest as the students squeezed the plants, releasing a large amount of thick, yellowish-green liquid.

A booming bell echoed from the castle and the students moved off to their next classes. As Dragon made her way down the sloping lawn to Hagrid's cabin, Fox and Raven caught up to her.

"Yo, sorry we're late," Fox said. "Cat wanted to spar some more." Dragon rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses," she said.

"Is everything okay?" Fox asked.

"Apart from my nose nearly dying from a couple of plants, everything's fine," Dragon said. Fox laughed.

"We should catch up to them," Raven pointed out.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Dragon asked, following the trio.

"There's nothing for us to do, so a couple of us are gonna follow the classes," Fox said. They reached Hagrid's hut, where the man himself was standing, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground on his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely.

"Good morning Hagrid-san," Fox said, while Dragon waved. Hagrid smiled at them.

"Hi Fox, Dragon, Raven," he said. He greeted the trio in front of them.

"Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this – Blasted-Ended Skrewts!"

"Come again?" said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates.

"Urgh!" squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backwards.

"Gross," Dragon moaned. "First bubbletubers, now this? They both stink like hell!"

"Bubotubers," Hermione said, unable to resist correcting her.

Blast-Ended Skrewts looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and very slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a Skrewt and, with a small _phut_, it would be propelled forward.

"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly while Fox, Raven and Dragon cringed from the smell, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yourselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"And why would we _want_ to raise them?" asked a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question.

"I mean, what do they _do_?" asked Malfoy. "What is the _point_ of them?" Hagrid evidently could not answer, and so Fox jumped to his rescue. He had taken a liking to the giant teacher, although he didn't show it.

"You raise them, they'll probably grow, and then you can use them in battle," Fox said. "Those burners and stinger thingies can come in handy." Malfoy glanced at Fox with a _'You're joking, right?'_ look.

"Well, you can try feeding them with ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake – just try 'em out with a bit of each," Hagrid said, trying to get back on track.

"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus.

Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn't suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the Skrewts didn't seem to have mouths. He also couldn't help noticing that the guards stayed well away.

"Ouch!" yelled Dan Thomas, after about ten minutes. "It got me!" Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"Its end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"Ew," said Lavender Brown again. "Ew, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). "I reckon they're the males… the females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies… I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Malfoy sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting and bite all at once?" The ninja couldn't help but agree with him.

"Well, at least the Skrewts are small," said Ron, as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later.

"They are _now_," said Hermione in an exasperated voice, "but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be much bigger." They sat down at the Gryffindor table, while the guards went off to the Ninja Table, where the rest of the guards already sat.

After lunch, Swan and Dog followed Harry and his friends to the North Tower. A sweet perfume wafted down the stepladder that led to Professor Trelawney's room.

"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual amount of large beads, chains and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight.

Swan scoffed silently as she led the way to a table with two chintz armchairs by the curtained window. She had met Professor Trelawney while she was exploring the school on the first week, and found her to be extremely annoying. Dog, meanwhile, had to leave Akamaru outside the classroom for two reasons. One, dogs could not climb ladders (even though he was a nin dog and could climb trees, but let's ignore that little fact, ne?), and two, Akamaru didn't like the powerful scent.

Dog found the classroom to be suffocating, literally. He was trying to not breathe in the heavily perfumed air, but since having a nose sharper than a nin dog's, he found the scented air too unbearable. Swan struggled not to laugh as she watched Dog slump down, and she bent forward to retrieve her unconscious teammate.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked, glad for the distraction in the class. The students were murmuring and laughing at the guard. Swan straightened up and looked around. "I thought ninja were supposed to be strong and everything. Why did he faint?"

"Dog has got a nose sharper than a dog's, and all this perfume is too strong for him," Swan said, glaring at the boy.

"So, do any of you happen to have anything sharp?" she asked the class. Everyone shook their heads, and Professor Trelawney descended upon the blonde guard.

"You, my child," she intoned. Swan looked up, irritated as she tried to get the knocked-out Dog onto her back.

"Yes?" Swan asked.

"You, you have killed many, correct?" Trelawney whispered. Swan nodded and began manoeuvring between the pouffes and armchairs. "My my, what a difficult life you've led. Your existence has been plagued with blood, death and pain. You witnessed the passing of your teacher."

"What of it?" Swan hissed. She walked over to the trapdoor with Dog on her back. She didn't like people telling her life story out to a bunch of teenagers. Balancing Dog, Swan lifted her mask up just high enough so that she could bite her thumb.

"What is she doing?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged and continued watching the guard. She said something strange while making hand signs and slammed her palm to the ground. Thin, squiggly black lines spread out from where her palm was. A second later, there was a _poof_ of smoke and a dove appeared. The guard greeted it.

"Hi Miko," Swan said.

"Hello, Swan-san," the dove said. A few of the students gasped, including Harry. Trelawney looked highly affronted that she was being ignored and stalked over to her winged armchair in a huff.

"Well, may you please leave? You are disrupting my class," she said snappishly.

"Yeah, in a sec," Swan said. She turned back to her summon. "Miko, could you get Stag for me? Tell him to come to the North Tower to watch over the class." Miko nodded and spread her wings and Swan opened the trapdoor for the bird to fly down.

"I'll be leaving now," Swan announced. "See ya." Swan lithely leapt down the trapdoor and shut the door behind her.

"Well, come now, back to work," Trelawney said huffily after the guard had left. She returned to telling the class about them studying about stars, which was then interrupted by Stag entering the classroom and falling asleep within five minutes of entry. At the end of the lesson, she seemed to be in a bad mood and so gave them a pile of homework.

Hermione caught up to Harry and Ron on the way to dinner, and as they joined the line, someone yelled out Ron's name.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned, expecting to see their least favourite person in the world. They were not disappointed, because standing there, in all their Slytherin glory, were Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Unfortunately, they all looked pleased with something.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley," said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the _Daily Prophet_, and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed Entrance Hall could hear. "Listen to this!" As Malfoy read out the details of the story, Ron became redder and redder.

"And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house – if you call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?" Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him.

"You know," drawled a cool voice from behind Malfoy. Malfoy shrieked and twisted around, coming face to face, well, it was actually face to neck, with the guard Stag.

"To insult one's parents is considered one of the lowest forms of rudeness one could give another in our world," Stag stated. "Don't do it again." As he turned around and started to walk away, he heard Malfoy drawing out his wand.

"Watch out!" Hermione screamed as Malfoy raised his arm. A red curse flew directly at Stag, who simply yawned and stepped to the side. Stag turned back his head lazily. There was a bang.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

Harry looked around and saw Professor Moody limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing.

There was a terrified silence in the Entrance Hall. Nobody but Moody and Stag was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Stag – at least, his normal eye was looking at Stag; the other one was pointing into the back of his head.

"Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly.

"Does it look like he did?" Stag asked lazily. Moody nodded, and then turned back to the ferret. It gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking towards the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew a few metres up into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upwards once more.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned, especially when the opponent doesn't have a wand, even though I'm sure Stag can take care of himself," growled Moody, as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…"

The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly.

"Never – do – that – again," said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced up again.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher.

"What – what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.

"Teaching," said Moody.

"Teach - Moody, is _that a student_?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the book spilling out of her arms.

"Yep," said Moody.

"No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, without a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blonde hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing.

"Moody, we _never_ use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, "but I though a good sharp shock -"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of house!"

"I'll do that then," said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike.

"No, I'll do it," Stag said. "He tried to curse me, so I'll deal out the punishment." Malfoy, who looked mighty relieved to be out of Moody's presence, suddenly looked terrified as Stag took his upper arm and led him away. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, and then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms.

"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened.

"Why not?" said Hermione in surprise.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever," said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret…"

Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates.

"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though," she said. "It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it-"

"Hermione!" said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again. "You're ruining the best moment in my life!" Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed.

"Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?" said Harry, watching her.

"Got to," said Hermione thickly. "Loads to do, and it's not schoolwork." Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley.

"Moody!" he said. "How cool is he?"

"Beyond cool," said George, sitting down opposite Fred.

"Supercool," said twins' best friend, Lee Jordon, sliding into the seat beside George. "We had him this afternoon," he told Harry and Ron.

"What was it like?" said Harry eagerly. Fred, George and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning.

"Never had a lesson like it," said Fred.

"He _knows_, man," said Lee.

"Knows what?" said Ron, leaning forwards.

"Knows what it's like to be out there _doing_ it,' said George impressively.

"Doing what?" said Harry.

"Fighting the Dark Arts," said Fred.

"He's seen it all," said George.

"'Mazing," said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his timetable.

"We haven't got him 'til Thursday," he said in a disappointed voice.

Up at the Ninja Table, Eagle was looking around with his Byakugan activated. What he saw piqued his interest slightly.

"Fox," he said in a low voice. Fox glanced up at him.

"Yeah?" he asked, noting the tiny trace of urgency in the Hyuga's voice.

"There's… an unusually large amount of chakra-like energy surrounding the body of Mad-Eye Moody," he said. "It worries me." Fox frowned.

"Well, we can't do anything about it. All we can do is keep an eye on him," Fox said. Eagle nodded with a troubled expression on his face.

(…)

Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor common room and noticed Colin Creevey bounding over to him and readied himself. Colin was a bit too hyper for Harry's tastes.

"Hiya Harry!" Colin said enthusiastically. "Professor Dumbledore wanted me to give this to you." He handed Harry a scroll sealed with a purple ribbon.

"Er, right. Thanks, Colin," Harry said. The tiny little boy waved and went over to his brother.

"What does it say?" Hermione asked, looking over his shoulder. Harry shrugged and turned the scroll over, and recognised the familiar, slanting handwriting of the headmaster. He undid the ribbon and unfurled it. Inside was a very short letter.

_Good evening, Harry,_

_Please meet me in my office as soon as possible._

_Albus Dumbledore_

"I have to go," Harry said. "It says that Dumbledore wants to meet me straight away."

"See you later," Ron said as he and Hermione watched their friend disappear through the portrait hole.

It wasn't past curfew yet, but still, Harry walked quickly towards Dumbledore's office. He spotted the headmaster waiting for him outside the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore turned towards him and smiled, his blue eyes bright.

"Ah, hello, Harry," he said. "Please come with me." Dumbledore led then Harry into his office, Harry feeling thoroughly confused.

"Now, I'm sure you are wondering what I wanted, no?" Dumbledore said, seating himself behind his desk in his circular office. Harry sat in the chair in front of him. The office was, as usual, filled with little contraptions and whizzing noises.

"Yes, Professor," Harry said.

"It's about the guards," Dumbledore said. Harry was taken-aback. He hadn't expected this.

"Excuse me?"

"The guards, Harry, the guards," Dumbledore said, looking amused at his confusion. "I need to tell you the other reason why they are here." Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He thought he knew what was coming.

"They're here to protect me as well," Harry said dully, catching on. Dumbledore nodded. So that's why they always seemed to be following him…

"I hope you do not take offence to this, Harry, but trouble seems to find you more easily than it does for other students," Dumbledore said. Harry felt faint annoyance boil in his stomach.

"But, Professor, I can take care of myself," Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.

"I am sure you can, but we are dealing with things both inside _and_ outside of Hogwarts," Dumbledore said gravely, his blue eyes serious. "We need all the help we can get, and the ninja are experts at things like this. And especially this year, when we are hosting the Triwizard Tournament, a lot can go wrong."

Harry nodded mutely, resigning to his fate.

"I understand, Professor," he said.

"Good," said Dumbledore, an air of finality to his tone. Harry took that as a signal to leave.

"And Harry?" Dumbledore said just as he opened the door. Harry glanced at the headmaster.

"Yes?"

"Don't make this hard for the guards. They are just doing their jobs."

"… Yeah."

(…)

"Tonight, I want Shikamaru staying in the Ravenclaw common room," Naruto said. Shikamaru grumbled, but obeyed the captain. It was about six o'clock that evening, and the ninja were relaxing in their quarters. Naruto had decided that it was time for the irregular and random check ups that the guards had to do on all the houses, which simply meant that the guards assigned to a house had to go and spend a night in their respective common rooms.

Stag found the Ravenclaws to be… extremely studious. He watched them all pour over books or chant spells. The only interesting person he found in there was a third year girl by the name of Luna Lovegood. She was a very airy-fairy person, always looking as though she was drifting off into her own little world. She had long blonde hair that fell to her waist and bright blue eyes. She was certainly strange; she kept her wand tucked behind her ear and read a magazine upside down.

Stag thought that Luna Lovegood was very interesting, but found that she was made fun of a lot and didn't have any close friends.

Stag saw a few girls sneaking out of the third year dorms while Luna was curled up in a corner, reading her magazine and deaf and blind to the world around her. He noticed that the girls were holding a few of Luna's things; two textbooks and her pencil case. They were giggling slightly and tried to go out of their common room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Stag asked coolly, appearing behind them. The girls gave tiny shrieks and whirled around. The rest of the common room fell silent as its occupants looked on in interest.

"J-just going somewhere," one of the girls stammered.

"With Lovegood-san's things?" Stag asked dryly. The girls flushed and tried to think up excuses, but failed. Stag held out a hand and the girls dumped Luna's possessions into it.

"Here," Stag murmured, tossing Luna her books and pencil case. She caught it, surprised, but smiled at the guard.

"Thank you very much," she said sincerely. Stag inclined his head, and as he sat back down in front of the fireplace again, she went up to her dorm to put her things away.

"Guess there are annoying people in all dimensions," Stag muttered, referring to the girls.

End chapter.

**Sorry, this chapter is a little short *looks away guiltily***** It **_**seemed**_** long when I was typing it up...**

**T****his is my story, and so I will write it anyway I want, but I WILL accept CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and constructive criticism ONLY. **

**Just to make this clear: Shikamaru IS NOT pairing with Luna. I just did that last part in the end because I wanted to. **

**And the you-can****-decide-the-parings is still on, although people have already given me great suggestions that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna use. **

**I have a poll on my profile that I NEED people to vote on because it will decide the course of this story**** even if the subject itself is insignificant. So please vote!**

**Naruto: Yeah! It's about whether or not we're going to**** the Yule Ball as- *a hand claps over his mouth***

**SaturnXK****: Shut up. Just vote, please?**

**Reviews, revie****ws, I love reviews, so… REVIEW!**


	6. Shock

**I don't know what day it is for you guys coz of the International Date Line ****thingy, but in Australia, it's Monday, so I met my deadline!**

**I'm sorry, but I'm gonna waste your ****time by putting in this chapter and therefore elongating the path to the action, even though people have already asked me when the action is gonna start. Patience, my dears, patience. **

**I'M PAST FIFTY REVIEWS! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! I'VE NEVER GOTTEN PAST FIFTY YET. The most reviews I've got (apart from this story) ****are around thirty, but then I went and deleted some chapters… **

**And I got lots of reviews for the last chappie!**

**So, my thanks ****to: ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****howlingwindofthestorm****, ****tenshi-no-akuma-81****, ****crystalmoon20****, ****JayneParker****, ****RadientWings****, ****Spider's Thread****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****Fumes43****, ****dattebayo4321****, ****x Dark Sin x****, ****Detective Huckle****, ****Rigoudon3****, ****Black-lit Roses****, ****CrimsonDenizen****, ****templar627****, ****CJWrites****, ****ChelseaAnonymous**** (I think I've got everyone) for all your reviews.**

**And for****whoknows****, regarding your review: I don't know whether you'll read this, since you didn't really seem to approve of my story, but if you do, I'll say thanks for the constructive criticism, but ****most**** people seem to like the pairings, so I'll be keeping that, but I'll be keeping the lovey-dovey scenes to a minimum so that doesn't cloud the actual storyline. **

**Now, before we start the chapter… **

**SaturnXK: I do not - **

**Sasuke: the author is nothing but an insignificant ****pest and so she does not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

**SaturnXK: hey! Don't just interrupt me like that! And if you wanna say something rude, say it to my face, not to the readers! **

**Sasuke: fine then. *turns to SaturnXK* You. Are. An. **_**Insignificant. Pest. **_

**SaturnXK: w****hy you-**

**Kiba: oh shut up. Get on with the story already.**

**Sasuke: **_**you**_** shut up, dog breath. **

**(Why are my Author's Notes always so long?)**

**Chapter Six: Shock**

(…)

With the knowledge that Harry had received from Dumbledore about the guards, the scarred boy felt a wave of annoyance go through him, although he tried to quell it. He knew it wasn't the ninja's fault, but he still didn't like the fact that they were guarding him.

That night, he had gone back to the common room to find Hermione and Ron waiting anxiously for him. He had sat down and told them everything.

"That's makes sense," Hermione said after he had finished. "No wonder they're always in all of our classes."

"You're really that important, eh?" Ron said, punching Harry lightly on the arm. "Don't die on us."

"But what danger is there to guard me from anyway?" Harry said.

"You-Know-Who," Hermione said, pointing out the obvious.

"There are lots of people… and things that want to harm you, Potter-san," whispered a voice. Hermione stifled a shriek as Eagle appeared out of the shadows.

"Hi, Eagle," Harry said, a tad resentfully. The guard nodded at him, his silver armour gleaming dully in the firelight.

"I see Dumbledore-san has told you the truth," Eagle said. "Now please, just stay out of trouble. It will make our jobs much easier without us having to watch your back. I know from Dumbledore-san that whenever there is trouble, you three, particularly Potter-san, will be in the midst of it." Harry, stung by these words, could merely nod as Eagle melted back into the shadows again.

…

Though it was a magic school, Hogwarts was not immune to gossip, and rumours had already started to spread when people began to notice that the ninja followed Harry around like they were his bodyguards.

"Is Potter _that_ important?"

"He's the 'Golden Boy' isn't he?"

"Why is it _always_ Potter?"

"They follow him around like dogs."

Harry wasn't sure about the guards, but it sure was getting on his nerves.

"Could you guys stop following me?" he asked irritably as Swan tailed him from Transfiguration. The girl regarded him coolly.

"Orders are orders, Potter-san," she said. "Besides, you know why we're here."

Harry didn't answer. Of course he knew why they were here.

"But do you have to follow me so obviously?" he asked. "Could you make it look like you _aren't_ following me when you actually are, or something?"

"Who died and made you boss?" Swan asked. "Stop telling me what to do and get on to your next class."

Annoyed, Harry bit his lip, preventing him from retorting back and strode off.

(…)

"Why do you think Snape-san hates Longbottom-san so much?" Slug murmured to Raccoon as they watched Neville melt his sixth cauldron in Potions.

"Well, Longbottom-san _does_ seem to be very clumsy," Raccoon said. "Maybe Snape-san just gets annoyed by him."

"Yes, but he seems to hate everyone apart from the Slytherins," Slug said.

"He _is_ Head of Slytherin," Raccoon said. The bell rung and the guards ended their conversation, following Harry Potter and his friends.

"Fox, where the hell have you been?" Slug hissed when their captain finally caught up with the pair.

"Some kids were ditching class," he said, annoyed.

"Why are they so eager?" Slug asked as the Gryffindor fourth years lined up outside their Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom early.

The students filed in, and the guards took their usual seats at the back of the classroom, half in shadow. They watched as the Golden Trio headed to the front, right in front of the teacher's desk.

The class was unusually quiet, and soon, they heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and as frightening as ever. They could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.

"You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."

They returned the books to their bags, and Slug saw Ron looking extremely excited. Moody took out a register, shook his long man of grizzled grey hair out of his twisted and scarred face and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swivelled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.

"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've a letter…" The guards ignored Moody and started their own conversation.

"So… what does this class about again?" Fox asked. A vein appeared on Slug's forehead.

"If," she said with deliberate slowness, "you actually _listened_ to Dumbledore-san while he was explaining the classes, you would _know_."

"But you know that I don't listen," Fox pointed out unhelpfully.

"It's just as the name suggests. Defence Against the Dark Arts. They are defending themselves against the Dark Arts, which is black magic," Raccoon explained tonelessly.

"Heh, that makes sense," Fox said. They noted that Moody's eye could see through walls, desks, and the back of his head as he scolded Lavender Brown for not listening to him and showing her friend a horoscope underneath the desk.

"So… do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

The ninja cocked their heads in interest. They wanted to see what the most dangerous curses in the wizarding world included.

Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender.

"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one… is it called the Imperius curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father _would_ know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius curse." Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. The shinobi saw three large, black spiders scuttling around inside it. Ron recoiled slightly.

_Ew,_ Sakura thought, _I don't like spiders._

Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders and held it in the palm of his hand. He muttered, "_Imperio!" _

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk, and began to swing backwards and forwards as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakeably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing, apart from Moody and the guards.

"Che," Fox muttered, "as if that curse is anything special."

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" The laughter died away almost instantly.

"Total control," said Moody quietly, as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats…" Ron gave an involuntary shudder.

"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius curse," said Moody, and Slug knew he was talking about the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.

"The Imperius curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VILIGIANCE!" he barked, and the students jumped.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Neville's hand rose hesitantly into the air.

"Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville.

"There's one – the Cruciatus curse," said Neville, in a small but distinct voice.

"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again. Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further enquiries.

Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it on the desktop, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move.

"The Cruciatus curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider. "_Engorgio!" _

The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretence, Ron pushed his chair backwards, as far away from Moody's desk as possible. Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered: _"Crucio!"_

At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began twitching horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Harry was sure that if it could have give voice, it would have been screaming.

_Wow… it would be __useful to know how to use this curse,_ Slug thought. _It would be so much easier to torture someone without getting your hands all dirty…_

Moody did not remove his wand, which was still casting the Cruciatus curse on the spider, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently –

"Stop it!" Hermione said shrilly. Slug looked around at her. She was looking, not at the spider, but at Neville Longbottom, and Slug, following her gaze, saw that Neville's hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch.

"_Reducio," _Moody muttered. And the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar.

"Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus curse."

"Right… anyone know any others?"

Slug looked around. From the looks on everyone's faces, she guessed they were all wondering what was going to happen to the last spider.

_So innocent,_ Slug thought.

Hermione's hand shook slightly as, for the third time, she raised it into the air.

"Yes?" said Moody, looking at her.

"_Avada Kedavra,"_ Hermione whispered. Several people looked uneasily around at her, including Ron.

"Ah," said Moody, another slight smile twisting his lop-sided mouth. "Yes, the last and worst. _Avada Kedavra…_ the killing curse."

He put his hand into the glass jar, and almost as though it knew what was coming, the third spider scuttled frantically around the bottom of the jar, trying to evade Moody's fingers, but he trapped it, and placed it upon the desktop. It started to scuttle frantically across the wooden surface.

Moody raised his wand, and the guards looked on curiously.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _Moody roared. There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air – instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the girls stifled cries; Ron had thrown himself backwards and almost toppled off his seat as the spider skidded towards him. The guards looked on stonily.

Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor.

"Not nice," he said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no counter-curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me."

Harry felt his face redden as Moody's eyes (both of them) looked into his own. He could feel everyone else looking around at him, too. Harry stared at the blank blackboard as though fascinated by it, but not really seeing it at all…

The class stayed silent for a few minutes, before it was broken by a sound coming from the back of the room. The students' heads turned, and they found Fox looking at them at what they thought to be an incredulous way.

"Is that all?" Fox asked, his voice filled with disbelief. Harry mouth dropped open. What did he mean by "Is that all?"?

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that is the three illegal curses of the wizarding world," Moody growled. Fox started to laugh, his body hunched over the desk, his shoulders shaking.

The class made no noise as they watched him snicker.

"It's not _that_ funny," Slug told him.

"You're kidding, right?" Fox said finally after he finished his laughing fit.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, voicing what everyone was thinking inside.

"Those curses, they're not even that bad," Fox said. "Surely that must be other curses worse than those three."

Slug rolled her eyes and smacked his head.

"Shut up, it's not up to you to decide whether they're bad or not," Slug said. "But I don't understand," she added, staring at Moody. "Why is Imperius curse made one of the Unforgiveables?"

"Because it can make people do things they don't want to," Moody said.

"And?" Slug prompted.

"That is considered a crime."

"… Right…"

"Are you sure there isn't anything else?" Fox asked, frowning now. He had realised that Moody was being serious.

"No, those are the three. If you're so unimpressed, then tell us what _your_ world doesn't allow," Moody said.

"Well, I guess we will allow anything," Slug said thoughtfully, thinking about it for the first time. "Even the mass murder of a nation, although whoever responsible will be wanted internationally."

Harry's breath hitched in his throat. He didn't think he wanted these people guarding him anymore.

"We allow things like mind control, torture and killing in our society," Raccoon said quietly. "We don't even think about it."

"Swan has a special mind-body control technique unique to only her clan," Slug said. "It's really useful for slipping into an enemy's lair."

"We torture people all the time. It's one of the most efficient ways of getting information out of someone," Fox said dismissively.

"It's not that hard to find someone who has killed people by the age of six," Raccoon supplied. "The general age of killing starts around twelve, especially when ninja enter the Chunin Exam. Even if they don't take their life directly, they do it indirectly, such as leaving them in fatal traps and such. It's not uncommon."

"Well, Raccoon started to kill people when he was six or seven," Fox muttered, his lips twitching. "Left dead bodies everywhere too."

"What's the Chunin Exam?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

"An exam," Slug said unhelpfully.

"But taking someone's life… that just wrong!" Hermione burst out. "Don't you people have any conscience? Do the words 'comrade' or 'compassion' or 'help' mean anything to you? Have you all just become heartless monsters?"

Hermione's eyes widened as she covered her mouth, clearing wishing that she didn't say the last part.

The temperature in the classroom dropped down to zero. Despite their faces being covered by masks, everyone could tell that the guards were glaring lightning strikes at the bushy-haired girl.

"Don't… make assumptions," Slug said, her voice eerily calm.

"We may be cold at times, and we may seem callous, but don't you _dare_ say that we are heartless monsters," Raccoon hissed. His sand slithered around restlessly as it poured out of the gourd, rearing up and then dropping down again

"You can call us anything you like, think of us any way you want, but we are _not_ monsters. Yes, we understand the words 'comrade' and 'compassion' and 'help', but in our world, if you show any sympathy or mercy to an enemy, you will die," Fox said. His voice had gone unusually frigid.

Slug closed her eyes behind her mask, and then opened them, disheartened. It saddened her to know that even though it had been so long since Fox and Raccoon were last called monsters, they still reacted badly to that word. She put a hand on both Fox's and Raccoon's arms and they glanced at her, resigning.

"I'm sorry," Slug said to Moody, "we did not mean to interrupt your class. Please continue."

Moody didn't say anything, but turned to the board behind him and waved his wand, making words appear. He instructed the class to copy them down, and they did so for the rest of the lesson in silence.

No one spoke until the bell rang, and once outside the classroom, they burst into excited chatter.

Harry didn't find the class very entertaining. He had learned how his parents had died, as well as other disturbing facts about their guards.

"Hurry up," Hermione said tensely to Harry and Ron.

"Not the ruddy library again?" said Ron.

"No," said Hermione curtly, pointing up a side passage. "Neville." Neville was standing alone, halfway up the passage, staring at the stone all opposite him with the same horrified, wide-eyed look he had worn when Moody had demonstrated the Cruciatus curse.

"Neville?" Hermione said gently. Neville looked around.

"Oh, hello," he said, his voice much higher than usual. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it?" He was about to say more, but then squeaked when Raccoon, Fox and Slug appeared behind him.

"Longbottom-san," Slug said softly, "we're sorry if we upset you during the lesson." She had noticed that Neville was looking completely sickened during their little 'speech'.

"Uh, that's okay," Neville said, his voice still in the higher octaves.

"No, Neville, it's not okay," Harry said. Anger boiled in his stomach. He turned to the guards. "What right have you people got that allows you to take the lives of others? That curse, _Avada Kedavra,_ it killed my parents! It killed countless other people! Are you guys really that used to death that you don't feel a thing when someone dies in front of you?"

The guards did not say a thing, but Harry had the distinct impression that the ninja were staring mockingly at him. Fox scoffed.

"So young and naive," he said with a laugh, although it was the coldest laugh Harry had ever heard. "Ne, Potter-san, can I ask you a question?" Harry stared icily at him.

"Have you ever felt helpless?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know what it means to be a ninja?" Fox asked, changing the question. Neville, Hermione and Ron were forgotten as Harry stared angrily at the guard(s).

"The hell I don't. And why would I want to know?" Harry hissed.

"A shinobi lives alongside death," Raccoon stated. "A shinobi is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. We exist to fight. We exist to kill. In our world, it is thought that a one is a true ninja when you are able to rid yourself completely of emotions; when you become nothing more than a killing machine. Do you know how that is gained?"

"It is gained by killing all your friends. It is gained by the simple bloody murder of all the people who worked alongside you to strive to become ninja. The same people who comforted you when you were upset, made you laugh when you're not supposed to, and were just there for you. You had to kill them all," Slug said, remembering back to what Zabuza had told them about Mist ninja.

"To be a shinobi, you live the risk of getting yourself killed on mission. You risk getting your friends hurt and murdered. We have felt the feeling of helplessness more than we can count. We have seen the spark of life leave someone's eyes countless times. In most cases, it is us who are the cause their death," Fox said, his wintery eyes glaring out from behind his mask.

Hermione sucked in a breath. There was a tense silence as the ninja and magical folk regarded each other coldly. Neville tried to blend into the background.

An odd, clunking noise sounded behind them, and they turned to see Professor Moody limping across to them. The shinobi inclined their heads, and then put their hands in a strange position and _poofed_ away, making the wizards and witches jump.

"It's all right, sonny," Moody said to Neville. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on… we can have a cup of tea…" Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. He neither moved nor spoke. Moody turned his magical eye upon Harry.

"You all right, are you, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry, almost defiantly. Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed Harry.

"You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, _but you've got to know._ No point pretending… heck, those guards are even wiser than you are." Harry hissed silently at that.

Neville looked pleadingly at Harry, Ron and Hermione as Moody drew away, but as none of them said anything, he was forced to follow.

(…)

"You told Potter-san too much, Sakura," Naruto said as they sat in the comfy armchairs. "You told him too much about our world."

"I know, I'm sorry. But he was getting on my nerves," Sakura sighed.

"How the Mist used to train their shinobi is none of Potter-san's business," Gaara said.

"I know, I know," Sakura said. "I guess I just wanted to scare him. It won't happen again."

"And besides," Gaara continued, "only the Mist ever used that 'test'."

"It was rumoured that the Foundation used to do that as well, to rid the shinobi of their emotions," Naruto said. "And then they end up as jerks, like Sai."

"He's getting better though," Sakura said. "He knows that he shouldn't call people rude names."

"And yet he still calls you 'old hag'," Naruto said dryly.

"…"

"What's wrong?" Ino asked as she watched Naruto, Gaara and Sakura sitting in the armchairs and staring into the fire almost moodily.

"Long lesson with Moody-san," Naruto replied. "It sure dug up a lot of skeletons in my closet." Ino raised her eyebrows, not getting what her captain was telling her, but decided not to pursue it.

"Where's everyone?" Naruto asked, noticing the other ninja's absence.

"Training."

"I'm gonna go train," Naruto said. "I'm feeling really tense."

"I'll come," Gaara said quietly. The pair pulled on their masks again and body-flickered out to the Forbidden Forest for some sparring. Sakura sighed as Ino sat down next to her.

"Tiring day?" Ino smiled. Sakura smiled half-heartedly.

"Yeah," she murmured.

The two sat in silence for a while, Sakura pondering, Ino relaxing, both waiting for the others to return.

Eagle and Dragon came back first, their normally spotless armour covered in dirt and blood. They sat on the couch together after greeting Sakura and Ino, not bothering to go and change. They did, however, take their masks off, revealing flushed faces and tired eyes.

"Neji trained me like hell," Tenten moaned. Her head drooped onto Neji's shoulder; her lean body relaxed and floppy. "I'm so tired." Sakura and Ino tried to keep their faces neutral as they watched the Tenten-Neji interaction unfolding before them.

"Good evening, everyone," Cat said, entering the Shinobi Quarters.

"Hi Hinata," Ino said cheerily as the Hyuga took her mask off.

"I'm off to bed," Tenten mumbled, staggering up and walking slowly to the dorms.

"How hard _did_ you train her, Neji?" Sakura asked. "She looks dead on her feet." Neji let out a breath.

"Believe it or not, she pushed me pretty far as well," Neji said. His pearly eyes had shadows beneath them, and Neji felt as though every muscle in his body decided to scream at him. "I'm going to bed too."

"Is everyone else not back yet?" Hinata asked.

"Gaara and Naruto just went out," Sakura said. The door opened and Dog and Stag entered, Akamaru padding along behind them.

"I hate Akamaru right now," Stag said, peeling off his mask. Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Akamaru pissed on him," Kiba explained, his mask dangling from one hand.

"It's like freaking acid," Shikamaru groaned. "See?" He held out his foot, which showed several burns.

"Here," Sakura laughed. Her hand glowed green and she healed his foot. Akamaru wagged his tail when Hinata came over and started patting him.

"Raven," Ino said as the Uchiha went in. He took off his mask, becoming Sasuke again.

"Hn," he said. "What's everyone's doing?" His cold eyes surveyed the room, taking in the scene. "Why do you all look so tired?"

"What do you think?" Shikamaru yawned. "Geez, this is so troublesome. I'm going to take a shower." Sasuke went to an armchair and sat down on it and sighed.

"Training was hard for me too," he muttered. "The Sharingan still takes a lot out of me."

"But not as much as before, _ne_?" Hinata asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"I'm off," he said, following Kiba up the stairs.

"Damn! Why is everyone going to sleep early?" Ino asked. Hinata sat in front of the fire, Akamaru's head resting on her lap.

"Freakin' hell! You didn't have to throw it _that_ hard!" said a voice angrily outside the Shinobi Quarters. Raccoon and Fox appeared, the latter looking thoroughly pissed as he tore off his mask.

"When you train, you have to act as though you are going to kill your opponent," Gaara said, tossing his mask on an armchair. "Surely Kakashi taught you that."

"What's going on now?" Sakura asked.

"This!" Naruto said, turning his back to her. The three girls could see a kunai protruding from right shoulder blade, just where the armour ended. The blood stains weren't clearly seen because of the black fabric. "Gaara threw it at me _really_ hard!"

"Naruto, you are an ANBU now. Why the hell couldn't you dodge that one little kunai?" Ino asked, jumping up to heal him.

"And even though you didn't dodge it, you still shouldn't be complaining about it," Hinata said. Naruto pouted.

"Aww, I thought you would be on my side, Hinata," he whined, sounding like a child.

"Whatever made you think that?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Because Hinata's nice," Naruto said.

"Naruto, you're not a child anymore. Grow up," Sakura said wearily. Gaara surveyed the scene before him, and then decided he was too tired to be a part of it.

"Good night," Gaara said. His pale green eyes were decidedly exhausted. He went up to the dorms.

"Everyone's more tired than usual," Hinata said. "Have they been over-training?"

"Most likely," Sakura said. "I guess they're just really bored."

(…)

Harry was in the common room that night with Ron and Hermione when he noticed Stag sitting in front of the fire. Evidently, it was his turn to watch Harry. The boy saw Stag writing a long letter non-stop, pausing every now and then to scan over what he had written, and then starting to write again.

Harry was still feeling irritated and annoyed at the guards, and so tried to ignore Stag. However, near the end of the night, when most people had gone off to bed, Harry heard Stag mumbling.

"Hope she gets this," Stag muttered. Harry sighed, annoyed.

"Would you mind shutting up?" Harry snapped. He decided that anyone who killed others were better off away from him. They probably didn't know the pain of having no parental love. **(A/N He sounds like an idiot...)**

Stag glanced over at Harry. He heard from Fox about the encounter today, and knew that the scarred boy was pissed. But that didn't mean he was going to go all kind and soft hearted towards a brat who hasn't even seen a person die in front of him yet.

"You know, Potter-san," Stag said. "You're not the centre of the universe, so don't tell me what to do."

"Harry, stop being stupid," Hermione whispered. Harry ignored her.

"Well, it's hard to concentrate when you're mumbling away in the background," Harry said. Perhaps he was looking for an excuse for an argument, he didn't know. All he _did_ know was that he definitely DID NOT want these people guarding him. They were too callous.

"Well then, my apologies, O Mighty One," Stag said mockingly. "I'm just writing a letter to my girlfriend; guess I've gotta get your permission for me to speak from now on, eh?"

"You have a girlfriend?" Ron asked, unable to stop himself.

"Yeah, is that so weird?" Stag asked dryly. "Even ninja can have relationships, you know. Our world isn't just made up of blood and death."

"Really? I never would have thought otherwise," Harry said, getting up and going to his dorms. Stag raised an eyebrow after him.

"Arrogant, annoying, weak little boy," he muttered, earning him heated glares from Ron and Hermione.

End chapter.

**Huh, why is Stag always in the ending scenes? **

**I know that the little rant thing in Moody's first lesson is really clichéd**** and overdone and is always used in Harry Potter and Naruto crossovers, but if I didn't put that in, it would be boring, ne? I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy it, but you can live with it. XP**

**Your reviews make my ****day *hint hint***

**After this chapter, you can vote one last time for our pairings, but then the you-can-decide-the-pairings thing is closed. So no more playing matchmaker between our Naruto characters XD**

**So… I'm gonna make Harry more snappish and annoying than usual**** (for a while; it's not gonna last forever, only for about two or three chapters), because Harry, being Harry, probably doesn't like the fact that people are guarding him, and fuelling that irritation is the fact that the ninja, being ninja, are murderers and killers and unfeeling (that was just me generalising). A combination like that doesn't go well together. **

**And Happy Easter guys!**

**Also, big thanks to the people who voted on my poll :D**

**So, the next chapter**** is 'Arrival of the Schools', which, as the title oh-so-clearly says, signifies the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. **


	7. Arrival of the Schools

**Good morning/afternoon/evening people, whatever part of the world you live in!**

**This chapter came out early. Why? Because I felt like it.**

**Thank you all for the reviews from the past three chapters telling me which pairings I should have, you have decided my story *bows***

**So… now that I've passed fifty reviews, please cooperate so I can make it to one hundred!**

**My thanks to: ****ChelseaAnonymous****, Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover, ****x Dark Sin x****, ****tenshi-no-akuma-81****, ****crystalmoon20****, ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****dattebayo4321****, ****RadientWings****, ****alchemists19****, Ayaya-chan, Anonymous, Pain ftw, ****lilsis1232**** and an anonymous review who did not leave a name.**

**Warning: this chapter has a bit of romance… **

**Naruto: romance? Really?**

**SaturnXK: can you guess who the lucky couple is?**

**Naruto *scrolling through story* Ooh! Ooh! I see it! Hey, there are two –**

**SaturnXK: ANYWAYS! Let's go and read before Naruto spoils everything.**

**Hinata: Um… haven't you forgotten to say something?**

**SaturnXK: oh right! Thanks for reminding me Hinata! Ahem, Naruto doesn't belong to me and Harry Potter doesn't belong to me either.**

**Ino: who do they belong to?**

**SaturnXK: you don't even know your own creator? **

**Ino: T_T**

**SaturnXK: Naruto = Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter = J.K Rowling **

**Chapter Seven: Arrival**** of the Schools**

(…)

Cat followed Harry swiftly as he made his way up to the Owlery, a letter addressed to Sirius Black in his hand. She had watched him write it in the early morning, something about him imagining his scar hurting.

The Owlery was a circular stone room on the top of a tower, cold and draughty because of the absence of glass on the windows. The floor was covered in straw, owl droppings and bones of mice and voles. Hundreds and hundreds of owls nestled here and there on perches that right up to the roof.

The owls shifted restlessly when they noticed Cat's presence, but went back to sleep. Cat watched Harry coax down his snowy-white owl and tie the letter to her feet.

Harry stared after his owl for a while after she took flight, and then sighed, going to back the Gryffindor common room. Cat slipped after him silently.

In the Gryffindor common room, she found Fox waiting inside for her. Harry gave her captain a cold glance and went back up to his dorm, obviously not wanting to stay in the same room as him.

"Fox," Cat said softly, going up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in," Fox said, grinning brightly at her, and although Cat couldn't see it, the smile reached his eyes. "Where did Potter-san go?"

"He sent a letter to Black-san about him imagining that his scar hurt during the holidays to stop Black-san from returning to the country," Cat said.

The ninja had intercepted and read all of the letters Harry had sent to his godfather. **(A/N I don't know how they do it, they just do)**

"He did, did he?" Fox said thoughtfully. "Huh, that doesn't really concern us, though…"

"..."

"The sky is quite pretty," Cat said after a moment's silence. The kunoichi was looking out the window of the Gryffindor common room towards a horizon that was shot with pink and gold. A gleaming sun sent rays of light streaming towards the castle and onto Cat's mask.

"I like Konoha's sky better," Fox said. He would never admit it, but he was a little homesick.

"You're homesick," Cat without hesitation. Fox blinked at her.

"How did you know?" Fox asked in amazement.

_I was sure I hid it pretty well,_ Fox thought.

Cat gave him a little shrug.

"I just do," Cat smiled. Cat may have been shy and quiet, but she had learnt to read emotions pretty well now. She moved closer to him and put her hand on her captain's shoulder.

"Don't worry, we all are," Cat said softly. "But hey, it's a mission."

"I know that," Fox said. "Still, can't help it. But then again, this mission _is_ pretty exciting, _ne_?"

"Yeah, it is," Cat agreed. "Although you still haven't gotten used to the ghosts, have you?"

"Be quiet."

(…)

"Swan, I want you to check on the third year Hufflepuffs this morning," Fox told her. The ninja were in the Great Hall having breakfast, and Fox was giving them their watch-over-them classes for the day. "Eagle, Dog and Raven, you'll be with Potter-san. Raccoon and Cat can go with the seventh year Ravenclaws. Dragon and Slug will be with the fifth year Slytherins. Cat, after the first two lessons, you go with the first year Gryffindors. Dragon, after the first three lessons, you go and check on the second year Hufflepuffs. Got it?"

"_Hai,"_ they chorused.

Eagle and Raven had started a staring contest. Okay, maybe more like _glaring_. Two prodigies weren't exactly meant to work together, especially Raven and Eagle. They both had pretty high opinions of themselves.

"_Kami-sama!"_ Fox growled. "Would you guys stop that?"

"Hn."

"Hn."

"Act your age," Fox hissed. Stag coughed into his breakfast. Fox ignored him.

"Look who's talking," Eagle muttered. Fox's eyebrow twitched.

"Excuse me?"

"Since when have you ever acted mature, Fox?" Raven asked.

"I've acted mature!" Fox insisted.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"When?"

"Uh… sometime in the past…?"

A snort.

"Riiiight."

"Oh shut up, _teme_."

"_Dobe."_

"_Teme."_

"_Dobe."_

"_Teme."_

"_Dobe."_

"There's the bell," Raccoon said. "Go to your assigned classes before I use my sand to dump you there." Swan grinned.

"Raccoon is more of a leader than you are, Fox," Swan teased.

"Hey!" Fox protested. "I'm a pretty good leader."

"For _Kami's_ sake, Fox, just go to your class!" Slug snarled, losing her patience. Fox body-flickered out of the Hall before the pinkette could punch him out of the castle.

(…)

Dog had found himself in a very uncomfortable position.

Literally.

He was standing between Raven and Eagle.

And they were both death glaring each other.

And he was caught.

In the _middle_ of it.

It was like having two holes being burned on either side of your head.

Dog didn't like it. Not to mention the fact that they were late. Classes had already started, and so the corridors were empty.

"When do you think they'll stop?" Dog whispered to Akamaru. The white canine whined, but Dog heard it to be, "Probably never".

_Great,_ Dog thought. _I'm stuck between two hot heads, or maybe I should call them cool heads, they don't seem the type to get angry. Whatever, I feel like I'm in the middle of a roasting pit._

"Could you guys stop glaring at each other?" Dog asked irritably. The Hyuga glanced at him, then at the Uchiha, and then looked away. Raven did the same.

_Thank Kami,_ Dog sighed.

But then another problem was presented.

It was awkward. So extremely, almightily, annoyingly, awkwardly awkward. The silence between the three boys pressed upon Dog. The two prodigies may not have noticed it, but the dog nin felt _very_ uncomfortable. Dog was normally a very chatty person, but he could not bring himself to start a conversation with either of them.

_I'm gonna kill Fox for this,_ Dog thought. _What the hell was he thinking? Putting Raven and Eagle together. The idiot._

"We're here," Dog said dully as they arrived at Harry's Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"No, really?" Raven said mockingly. "I never would have guessed."

"Shut your mouth," Eagle said coldly. "The noise is unbearable enough without you adding your annoying voice into it."

_Ouch,_ Dog sniggered. _Pretty good wording there._

But it was true, the noise inside the classroom was filled with students laughing and shrieking. Dog opened the door to find Dean Thomas hopping around the room singing the national anthem.

The three shinobi sweat dropped.

"Uh, Moody-san?" Dog asked curiously as they entered.

All the desks were pushed to the side of the room, leaving a wide space in the middle. The ex-Auror had his wand trained on the Gryffindor boy.

"I'm putting the Imperius curse on them," Moody said, "so they know what it feels like. I'm also hoping they can fight it off."

The three guards nodded in understanding.

"Can we have a go at the end?" Dog asked eagerly. "I want to know what it feels like."

Moody lifted the curse of Dean and gazed at the three ninja. Finally, he nodded.

"Alright then, after I've done everyone," he growled.

The shinobi then settled down on the tops of desks and watched the class do the strangest things.

Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville Longbottom performed a series of astonishing gymnastics that he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. None of them seemed to be able to fight off the curse, and each of them only recovered when Moody had removed it.

Finally, it was Harry's turn.

The boy walked nervously to the centre of the room and faced his teacher. Moody raised his wand and pointed it at Harry, and said, _"Imperio."_

It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him.

And then he heard Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty brain: _Jump onto the desk… jump onto the desk…_

Harry bent his knees obediently, preparing to spring.

_Jump onto the desk…_

Why, though?

Another voice had awoken in the back of his brain. Stupid thing to do, really, said the voice.

_Jump onto the desk…_

No, I don't think I will, thanks, said the other voice, a little more firmly… no, I really don't want to…

_Jump! NOW!_

The next thing Harry felt was considerable pain. He had both jumped and tried to prevent himself from jumping – the result was that he'd smashed headlong into the desk, knocking it over, and, by the feeling in his legs, fractured both his kneecaps.

"Now, _that's_ more like it!" growled Moody's voice, and suddenly Harry felt the empty, echoing feeling in his head disappear. He remembered exactly what was happening, and the pain in his knees seemed to double.

"Go get Slug," Dog whispered to Akamaru. "Tell her Potter-san's has, by the sound of it, fractured his kneecaps." Akamaru barked softly and sped out the door after opening it with his paw.

After Moody had put Harry through the curse another four times until the boy could finally throw it off altogether, Slug had been waiting patiently for about twenty minutes.

"Just going to heal him," she told Moody briskly. "Come here, Potter-san."

Harry hobbled over and slumped down on a desk.

Slug held out her palm over Harry's kneecaps and her hand glowed soft green. A tiny gasp was emitted from the class watching her.

Harry felt his bones shift slightly under his skin, and felt a little queasy. After Slug had finished, however, his knee was as good as new.

"Thanks," Harry shortly, testing his legs out. He still didn't like the guards, but thought that it would be too rude not to thank her.

Slug didn't say anything, but she twisted on her heel and started to leave.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you do that?" Hermione said.

Slug put a finger up to the mouth of her mask, making the universal sign of _'Shh'._

"Trade secret," she grinned. "But you could call it medical jutsu." She held her right hand up, folding down all of her fingers apart from her pointer and middle finger, which she left sticking up, and a second later, vanished with a _poof_.

"Wow," Ron murmured as they watched Moody perform the curse on the other members of their class. "She's as good as Madam Pomfrey."

"Don't let her hear you say that," Harry muttered back.

"Alright, your turn," Moody grunted after the entire class had been through the Imperius curse.

"They're having a go?" Hermione asked, watching Dog leap up excitedly along with Raven and Eagle. Akamaru looked on curiously, his great white head cocked as he watched his master/friend.

"Apparently," Harry shrugged.

"_Imperius,"_ Moody growled, his wand trained at Dog.

Dog stood absolutely still for a few seconds, and from what the class could see from his eyes, they were glazed, and then he seemed to recover.

For Dog, the experience was equal to getting hit in the head, seeing stars in front of your eyes and then regaining yourself again. He shook his head a few times, and then frowned.

"Aww, why did you take the curse off so soon?" Dog whined.

Moody's eyes widened. Ninja… what _were_ they? Dog threw off the curse with such ease.

"Very good," Moody said. "The curse on still on you."

"What?" Ron whisper-shouted. Dog's face fell under his mask.

"Is that all?" Dog asked. Moody nodded.

"My turn," Raven said. The iceblock moved to the centre of the room and Dog went to the side.

"_Imperius._"

"Hn."

Dog sweat dropped. _Of course_ the Uchiha would say that.

Moody rose an eyebrow, took the curse off and Eagle went for his turn. Moody's interest was mounting very high now.

"_Imperius_."

Eagle tilted his head, clearly saying "_Is that all?"_

"Interesting," Moody muttered.

"Are they, like, immune to the Imperius curse or something?" Parvati Patil whispered to Lavender Brown.

"That can't be possible," Hermione murmured to Harry and Ron. "No wizard can throw off the curse with _that_ much ease!"

"But they aren't wizards," Harry muttered, being reminded forcefully that they were ninja. Ninja who killed and tortured without batting an eyelid.

The next class was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. She had given the class a lecture on their O. and why the amount of homework she had set them was so high.

"You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education!" she told them, her eyes glinting dangerously behind her square spectacles. "Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer –"

"We don't take O. 'till fifth year!" said Dean Thomas indignantly.

"Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might remind you that _your_ pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone approaches it with a pin!"

"Seems like they have to start working hard," Dog muttered.

"Reminds me of the Academy," Eagle said. "Except we had to practice jutsu and learn the rules of the shinobi."

"The good old days," Raven said. Dog couldn't work out whether he meant it sarcastically or not.

(…)

"_Shit,"_ Dog whispered, staring up at the trapdoor. _"I can't go up there."_

"_And why not?"_ Eagle asked, gazing steadily at him.

"_Last time I went up there, I fainted because of the old hag's perfume,"_ Dog retorted. The Gryffindors milled around behind them.

"_Just get the hell in,"_ Raven said irritably, and before Dog could protest, he was thrown up the door and into the heavily scented air of the Divination room. Akamaru whined below him, but settled down behind the ladder, content to wait there until the end of class.

"_You'll live,"_ Eagle said as Dog put his hand under his mask and clapped it over his nose.

"_Like hell I will,"_ Dog hissed. The ninja went to the table beside the window and Dog opened it, sticking his face outside.

Harry and Ron were deeply amused when Professor Trelawney told them that they had received top marks for their homework, and she read out large portions of their predictions, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of the horrors in store for them – but they were less amused when she asked them to predict their futures for the next month.

"_Isn't it just a load o__f crap?"_ Dog asked Raven and Eagle during class while Professor Trelawney went on about… something.

"_Yeah," _Eagle murmured. _"But I don't think she knows that."_ Dog's lips twitched in amusement, but then he went back to his window, needing fresh air again.

"Has Fox been to History of Magic lessons?" Raven asked, speaking in English as they sat at the back of the classroom, watching Professor Binns drone on and on and on and on and on about Goblin Rebellions in the eighteenth century.

"Nah, he always has to call Slug in for him. Still scared of ghosts," Eagle said.

"Sounds just like him," Dog commented. He gazed around the room, bored and wanting something to do.

Harry and Ron were playing hangman, completely ignoring their ghost-teacher, while Hermione threw them disapproving looks.

In Potions, Professor Snape had the witches and wizards researching antidotes. The ninja watched with great amusement when Snape had threatened the students that he would be testing if their antidotes worked before Christmas.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had the students reading three extra books in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Charms.

"They have heaps of stuff to do," Dog said. Eagle and Raven said nothing, but Dog knew that they agreed.

In Care of Magical Creatures, Raven, Eagle and Dog met the Blast-Ended Skrewts for the first time. Oh joy…

"Urgh," Dog said, wrinkling his nose. "Are these the things that Dragon was complaining about a while ago? They smell like dead fish!"

"Most likely," Eagle said, peering down at them. "Although the ones that Dragon described seemed a lot smaller…"

"That's because they've been growing really fast," Lavender Brown told them, overhearing their conversation.

Hagrid, of course, was delighted with that fact. He even suggested that the students should come down on alternate evenings to observe the Skrewts and make notes on their extraordinary behaviour.

"I will not," said Draco Malfoy flatly, when Hagrid had proposed this with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra large toy out of his sack. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."

Hagrid's smile faded from his face.

"Yeh'll do wha' yer told," he growled, "or I'll be taken' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book… I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy."

The Gryffindors roared with laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger, but apparently the memory of Moody's punishment was still sufficiently painful to stop him retorting. Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the castle at the end of the lesson in high spirits with the guards trailing behind; seeing Hagrid put down Malfoy was particularly satisfying, especially because Malfoy had done his very best to get Hagrid sacked the previous year.

When they arrived at the Entrance Hall, they found themselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated here, all milling around a large sign which had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase.

Ron, the tallest of the three, stood on tiptoe to see over the heads in front of them and read the sign aloud to the other two.

_TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT_

_The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday 30__th__ of October. Lesson will end half an hour early._

_Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast._

"Wow, only one week away," Dog said, moving off into the Hall and avoiding the mass of people by walking on the ceiling.

The appearance of the sign in the Entrance Hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following weeks, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where Harry went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumours were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champions, what the Tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.

Even the guards seemed excited. They had never seen a wizarding tournament yet, and so were very curious to see what it would hold.

Harry noticed, too, that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces.

The suits of armour were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any student who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first year girls into hysterics.

Other members of staff seemed oddly tense, too.

"Longbottom, kindly do _not_ reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!" Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one lesson, during which Neville had accidently transplanted his own ears onto a cactus.

"Nice," Dragon said appreciatively when the ninja went down to breakfast on the thirtieth of October. They had discovered that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts house – red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. For the ninja, there was a white banner with the symbol of the leaf and sand. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger and snake united around a large letter 'H'.

"We saw them decorating it last night while Raccoon and I were doing our rounds," Stag said, glancing at the decorations and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Troublesome."

"Heh, Stag hasn't said that word for ages," Fox whispered.

"Good morning, guards," Dumbledore said, striding towards them as they sat down on their table.

"_Ohayou,_ Dumbledore-san," Fox said. "What can we do for you?"

"I'm just here to explain the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore said. He conjured up a chair and sat facing the ninja, therefore turning his entire back to the school.

"Is everybody here?" barked Fox, looking around. "Where the hell is Raccoon?"

"Sorry," Raccoon said, _poof_-ing next to him. "I got distracted."

"Right, now that everyone is here, let me begin," Dumbledore said.

"First, I am going to tell you what the first task consists of. Please do not reveal any of this to the students; it is against the rules. In the first task, they will be going against a dragon and they need to get the golden egg. I shall tell you about the second and third tasks when it comes.

"The Heads of the participating schools will be the judges, including me, and also Bartemius Crouch and Ludo Bagman. For the first task, the champions will be awarded points out of ten for how well they do.

"Now, for the jobs that you will be doing. I want all of you guarding each task in case things get out of hand. For the dragons, there will be a handful of dragon tamers, but we need you there just in case.

"I will explain your duties for the second and third task when the times comes, but for now, you must go because classes have started," Dumbledore finished with a smile.

"Thanks, Dumbledore-san," Fox said. He turned to the ninja. "Everyone understand that?" After receiving confirmations, Fox instructed Stag to go and follow Harry's class.

"The rest will go with the class I assign you for lessons one, three and four. The times between and after that, you're free," Fox said and then began giving each guard a class to look after for the day.

(…)

"Dragon, are you okay?" Eagle asked calmly as he went over to the girl.

"Are you kidding? Does it look like I'm okay?" Dragon snarled as she tried to stand on her twisted ankle. "Ow."

"Fool," Eagle sighed. "Get onto my back and we'll go find Slug." Dragon glared at him, clearly not wanting to do what he said, but after a second, realised that she had no choice.

"This is so embarrassing," she muttered and scrambled onto his back.

"There's no one here to see," Eagle pointed out as they made their way back to the castle. They had been training in the Quidditch pitch, and after Dragon had leapt through the air, she tried to dodge Eagle's Gentle Fist and ended up landing awkwardly on the ground. Both had finished their guarding duties for the day.

"This is your fault, you know," Dragon said playfully. "If you hadn't tried to Gentle Fist me, I wouldn't have been injured."

"And if you hadn't left yourself vulnerable in the air, this wouldn't have happened," Eagle retorted.

_Stupid Neji, always a smartass with words, _Dragon thought.

They made their way up to the hospital wing, and found Slug chatting away with Madam Pomfrey.

"Slug," Eagle called out. The pinkette turned and raised an eyebrow when she saw Dragon exuding a gloomy aura and Eagle trying not to accidently-on-purpose drop his comrade.

"Dragon was being an idiot and hurt herself," Eagle explained, lowering her on a bed.

"Hey! Let me remind you that it was _your_ Gentle Fist that caused me to land on the ground that way," Dragon said as Slug healed her ankle, much to the interest of Madam Pomfrey.

"We've already had this discussion, Dragon," Eagle said. The girl gave a 'tsk'.

"All done," Slug said. "Now could you two lovebirds get out of the hospital wing?"

Eagle and Dragon jumped and they both felt their faces heat up.

"Excuse me?" Dragon spluttered. "Lovebirds? Him? As if."

"Whatever, just go," Slug said, grinning broadly, thankful that her mask covered that fact. She knew Eagle and Dragon would kill her later.

Eagle and Dragon left the hospital wing, and after Slug made sure they were gone, she squealed with delight and giggled. She loved teasing the two, knowing that they both liked each other but were too proud to admit the fact. Madam Pomfrey looked at her strangely.

"Tenten," Neji said after watching the girl pace the Ninja Common Room for the twentieth time. The kunoichi stopped in her tracks and glared at him.

"What?"

"Stop walking around like that."

"Don't tell me what to do, Hyuga Neji!"

"Why are you so restless?"

"Coz I am!" She started pacing again.

"Tenten."

"What?"

"You're really beautiful."

"Thanks."

"…"

"Why did you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"… Right…."

Tenten studied the Hyuga's face, and found that he was staring at her without a trace of embarrassment on his face.

"Did you only say that to make me stop pacing?"

"No."

Neji's lips twitched into a tiny smile.

"Tenten."

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Hm… that doesn't sound like the Hyuga Neji I know. Has Ino possessed you or something?"

"Tenten, I'm serious."

"I know," Tenten grinned. "And I love you too."

(…)

Stag had noticed that there was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. None of the students were very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. When the bell rang early, Stag followed Harry, Ron and Hermione up to the Gryffindor Tower, and waited patiently for them to drop their books and bags off and pull on their cloaks and then tailed them when they rushed back downstairs into the Entrance Hall.

_Why are they in such a rush? _Stag thought. _Haven't they met students from other schools yet?_

To Stag, the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang was the same as shinobi from Suna coming to visit.

The Heads of houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Hey," Stag said once he spotted the ninja walking on the walls to avoid the confusion below them.

"Yo," Dog grinned. "The students are quite enthusiastic." He nodded to the Hogwarts students milling around in the Entrance Hall.

"I have to admit, I'm quite excited as well," Raccoon said, his voice flat.

"You don't sound like you're excited," Swan said.

"But I am," Raccoon told her. His sand was slithering around as well, an indication of his mood.

"Put your sand back into your gourd," Fox said irritably.

The guards followed the students and teachers as they filed down the front steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale-transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. The ninja, who had taken refuge in the trees of the Forest, spotted Harry standing between Ron and Hermione in the fourth row from the front.

Cat scanned the darkening ground closely, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent and quiet.

"They're coming," Eagle murmured. Akamaru sniffed the air and wagged his tail, confirming what Eagle had said.

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" Dumbledore called out.

"It's… a flying carriage, with twelve winged horses," Cat said slowly, "except these are _huge_." The shinobi looked to where Cat was pointing and saw, with their excellent eyesight, exactly what Cat had described.

Cat heard the students shouting out all kinds of strange things while they tried to guess what it was, and she tried not to laugh.

A gigantic black shape was hurtling through the skies towards the castle, skimming over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and showering the shinobi with leaves. As the lights from the castle hit it, they saw a huge, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring through the air, pulled by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

_Kami-sama!_ Cat thought. _These are huge._

The front three rows of students drew backwards as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed – then, with an almighty crash, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bounding upon its vast wheels, while the golden horse tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.

The shinobi left the cover of the trees and darted to where the students were, making a girl shriek as they suddenly appeared next to her.

They were just in time to see a coat of arms (two cross, golden wands, each emitting three stars) before it opened.

A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forwards, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then, the ninja saw a shiny, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage – a shoe the size of the Hokage's desk – followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman they had ever seen in their lives. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped, the shinobi did not, but still, they were shocked, although they didn't show it.

"She's the size of Hagrid-san," Slug whispered. Cat was staring at her too, stunned at her size.

As she stepped into the light flooding from the Entrance Hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face, large, black, liquid-looking eyes and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shiny knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman. The ninja did not clap, and they looked on stonily. It wasn't in their nature to applause people, only if they did something worth clapping for.

The woman's face relaxed into a gracious smile, and she walked forwards towards Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime, in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"On excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

Cat had noticed the dozen or so boys and girls – all, by the look of them, in their late teens – had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few of them had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what the shinobi could see of their faces (they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow), they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime. "But ze 'horses –"

"Can you… hear something?" Dog asked Fox. The sound was minute, and it was likely that the witches and wizards, with their ordinary ears, had not noticed it yet, but to the ninja's superb hearing, it was like an annoying, buzzing fly. Cat shook her head and tried to locate the sound.

"Yeah," Fox nodded. "It seems to be coming from the lake, but really, really deeply underwater." **(A/N Does that make sense?)**

Madame Maxime and her students had passed up the stone steps, and most of the Hogwarts people were staring hopefully at the sky.

"Dumbledore-san, there's something coming from the lake…" Fox murmured into the headmaster's ear. Dumbledore nodded.

"Durmstrang," he said.

Now, everyone could hear the eerie, loud noise that was drifting towards them in the darkness. It was a muffled, rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner was moving along a river-bed…

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down to it. "Look at the lake!"

From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water – except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the centre; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks – and then, out in the middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor.

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool… and then the rigging.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it was a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide towards the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People were disembarking; they could see the silhouettes passing the lights of the ship. They were wearing some sort of shaggy, matted fur, but the man who was leading them to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort; sleek and silver, like his hair.

"Dumbledore," he called heartily, as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.

Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle, they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth ere rather yellow, and the ninja noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd.

"I don't like him," Raccoon murmured to Fox. "His eyes… are not trustful. They hide too many secrets."

"Yeah," Fox said. "I know what you mean."

The ninja body-flickered back up to the castle and kept watch in the shadows, studying Karkaroff, closely, intently.

End chapter.

**This was a long chapter, no?**

**This chapter is called 'Arrival of the Schools' but the arrival doesn't actually start until the last part. Hehe, gomen.**

**OMG! I accidently found out how you do line breaks in stories! WOW! *is very excited* I didn't know that if you pressed on the uploaded document it would let you edit/preview it :DDD I TOTALLY DIDN'T KNOW THAT! And I've been on FanFiction for a while, too... DUDE THIS IS SO FREAKIN' AWESOME. I never knew how to do line breaks, so with this story, I settled with (...) as you have seen in my chapters.**

**Yes, now that I've calmed down from my discovery...**

**Coming up!**

**Chapter Eight: The Goblet of Fire**

**Come on, press that little review button down there. You know you want to...**


	8. The Goblet of Fire

**I have ****three thanks to give out specially.**

**Firstly, to tenshi-no-akuma-81, for her constructive criticism on the last chapter and the few chapters before that. I changed it a tiny bit with the NaruHina and NejiTen scenes, are they any better?**

**Secondly, to Lord Claw, who gave me extremely awesome ideas for the story to make it a bit more exciting. I will be using your suggestions. Whatever scenes that Lord Claw has proposed and is used in the story belongs to Lord Claw.**

**And thirdly, to ShadowsBloodPain, for your reviews that really just make my day XD**

**And to all my other reviewers, thank you very much as well****: ****RasenShuriken92****, ****SiriusBalisticPretzels****, ****alchemists19****, ****crystalmoon20****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****ChelseaAnonymous**

**Chapter Eight: The Goblet of Fire**

(…)

Cornelius Fudge sat in his office, frowning at the letter in his hand.

_Dear Cornelius,_ it had said. _I have hired shinobi to guard Hogwarts this year as we are hosting the Triwizard Tournament. I hope you approve of this decision._

"What is that fool thinking?" Fudge asked, disgust written all over his face. "Ninja? They are savages!"

Of course, Fudge had never exactly met a ninja before, but he had read books…

"They cannot stay," Fudge announced to the empty room. "They must be taken care of."

(…)

"Who's Viktor Krum?" Swan asked as she noticed hordes of girls squealing and squabbling as they craned their necks to see a certain boy from Durmstrang.

"How am I supposed to know?" Slug replied. "But it seems as though he's pretty famous." She observed the behaviour of the fan girls, and then grinned.

"Hey Swan," she whispered. "Does the behaviour of those girls remind you of something back home?" Swan looked at her, then at the girls, and burst out laughing.

"Eagle and Raven's fan club," Swan sniggered. Everyone had entered the Great Hall now.

The students from Beauxbatons seemed to be very glum and unimpressed, but the Durmstrang boys were quite interested and were happier than the Beauxbatons lot.

Dumbledore stood up after Madame Maxime had seated herself, and a silence fell over the Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, guards and – most particularly – guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh.

"The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore, ignoring the girl while Madame Maxime glared at her. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down, and Karkaroff leaned forward immediately to engage him in a conversation.

"Dumbledore," Karkaroff said, "I hope you don't mind, but I would like to know who those masked figures are." He indicated to the shinobi who were sitting at their table.

"Ah, the ninja guards," Dumbledore smiled. "I hired them to protect Hogwarts this year, particularly with the Triwizard Tournament going on. Do not worry, I trust them totally."

"But are you sure? They have not revealed their faces," Karkaroff said.

"They have to me," Dumbledore said, a little firmly. "I assure you, they are trustworthy."

"Ninja?" Madame Maxime said with interest, glancing over at them. "Most curious, Dumbly-dorr." Dumbledore smiled, and indicated that Karkaroff should start eating.

"Dumbledore-san?" Fox said, darting over to the High Table.

"Fox?"

Fox hesitated.

"I was thinking… do you think you can add in one more task?" Fox asked. Dumbledore cocked his head.

"What do you mean?" the headmaster said. Fox shrugged.

"Make a task that we, the ninja, have made up," Fox said, getting straight to the point.

"You?" Karkaroff butted in, heaving overheard their conversation. "You are nothing more than Muggles. How do _you_ expect to go against trained wizards?"

Fox glared at him. Apparently he didn't like ninja.

"Zat eez… a strange idea," Madame Maxime said. Her black eyes glittered with interest. Dumbledore frowned. "But I like eet."

"But this will go to go through the Department of International Magical Co-operation and Department of Magical Games," Dumbledore said. "I cannot just suddenly put in a fourth task."

"I am willing," Karkaroff said, his eyes mocking, "I will let my champion participate in any task these… _ninja_ put up."

"I am also interested," Madame Maxime said. "Dumbly-dorr, I wish for the ninja to put in a fourth task."

Dumbledore sighed.

"Fox, go back to your table, I will talk to Mr Crouch," Dumbledore said finally.

"What did you do?" Swan hissed as her captain returned. Fox grinned at her.

"Just a little something to give us a little action," he said.

"Who is that?" Cat asked, jerking her head to two extra wizards sitting at the High Table.

"Aren't they the Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch that Dumbledore told us about?" Dog suggested.

"Could be," Raccoon said.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up once against. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket and clarify the procedure which we will be following this year. But firstly, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation" – there was a smattering of polite applause – "and Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likeable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Again, the ninja did not clap.

"Mr Bagman and Mr Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few month on the arrangement for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word 'champion', the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen.

Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore, carrying a great wooden chest, encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students.

"There is a lot of energy surrounding that box," Eagle whispered to Fox, who now looked at the casket with renewed interest.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman," said Dumbledore, as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess – their daring – their powers of deduction – and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At the last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing. Even the shinobi had noticed the mood in the Hall and made no noise.

"As you know, three champions compete in the Tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector… the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand, and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it, and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable, had it not been full to the brim with dancing, blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the Goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment, and drop it into the Goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty four hours in which to put their name forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the Goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross the line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this Tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the Tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become champions. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are whole-heartedly prepared to play, before you drop you name into the Goblet.

"A ninja will be guarding the Goblet tonight," Dumbledore said, indicating to where the shinobi sat. "Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

(…)

Cat was guarding the Goblet that night, and after the students had left the Great Hall, Karkaroff and his students had lined up in front of the Goblet. Karkaroff had swept his eyes over her, before turning his back to the guard and commanding his students to drop their names in. After they had done so, they left without a backwards glance.

Later that night, she had received a sudden bout of dizziness, almost fainting for a second or two. When she came to, nothing had changed, but the girl felt a certain amount of uneasiness as she resumed her guarding of the Goblet.

That morning, Cat was still standing erect near the Goblet inside the Age Line. Even though it was Saturday, she found that most students had risen early and had gone down to the Entrance Hall to ogle at the Goblet. She had already stopped a few students from putting their names in.

She knew whether they were of age or not by asking them how old they were with her Byakugan activated. If their energy levels went haywire, if meant they were lying about their age. With this information, she sent the students away.

Cat looked at the Golden Trio coldly as they hovered in front of the Goblet that morning. There was a laugh behind the three, and Slug saw Fred, George and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase.

"Done it," Cat heard Fred say to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Just taken it."

"What?" said Ron.

"The Ageing Potion, dung brains," said Fred.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."

"Have fun trying to pass her," Hermione said, jerking her head at the guard. Although she didn't really like them, Hermione had to admit that the shinobi did their job well.

Cat stifled a groan. The other students had done the same thing, and it hadn't worked.

"Boys, please do not cross this line," Cat said, planting herself in front of them. She already knew that they weren't of age.

"But we're of age," George said in an innocent voice.

"Please don't insult my intelligence," Cat said through gritted teeth. "I _know_ you took the Ageing Potions and I _know_ that you three are not of age yet."

Fred, George and Lee ignored her.

"Fine," Cat said, "be my guest. But don't say I didn't warn you." She stood aside and the trio of troublemakers went towards her, whooping as they went. She decided to let the three pass as a warning to all other students who wished to enter but weren't of age.

Fred pulled out a slip of parchment out of his pocket, bearing the words 'Fred Weasley – Hogwarts'. As Fred stepped over the line and towards Cat, it seemed to work, and George let out a yell of triumph and leapt after him. The next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter.

They landed painfully, a few metres away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical, long white beards.

The Entrance Hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had got to their feet, and taken a good look at each other's beards.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. "And Miss Cat warned you as well." He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She hasn't had to tend to anyone else yet, since you two are the first people Cat has let go through the Age Line. I must say though, your beard are extremely fine."

Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was also howling with laughter.

"Dumbledore-san," Cat sighed, "your students really are very daring." She stretched out her tired muscles. Dumbledore smiled.

"Nothing like the students you have at home, no?" he replied. Cat laughed.

"No," she grinned, "not even close. Although they know quite a lot more pranks than them."

The only respect the ninja showed to anyone in the wizarding world was Dumbledore, and, at times, Professor McGonagall.

"Fox," Dumbledore called out, spotting the blonde ninja.

"_Hai,_ Dumbledore-san?" Fox said.

"Regarding the task," Dumbledore said, "the task that you wanted to get put in. I don't know why, but Mr Crouch approves. But what are you going to put in the task?"

Fox grinned at him.

"I want to leave that as a surprise," he said. "But don't worry, it's not going to kill them."

Dumbledore hesitated, but then decided to let his trust within the guards take over. He knew they would not harm the students.

"Very well, so this will be the new third task," Dumbledore said.

_That means that the maze will become the fourth task,_ Dumbledore thought.

(…)

The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkin leered from every corner.

Harry led the way over to Dean and Seamus, who were discussing those Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering.

"There's a rumour going round, Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told Harry. "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth."

Harry, who had played Quidditch against Warrington, shook his head in disgust. "We can't have a Slytherin champion!"

"Potter-san," a voice in his ear said. Harry yelped and twisted around, coming face to face with the mask of Fox.

"Don't scare me like that!" Harry snarled. "What do you want?"

"Che, so touchy," Fox said. "I need to talk to you alone."

Harry rolled his eyes and swung out of his chair, following the shinobi.

"Well?"

Fox regarded him silently. The he said, "Drop the attitude, Potter-san. It's beginning to annoy me as well as the rest of my team."

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No. When we took up this mission, Dumbledore-san told us that you have a connection with Voldemort via your scar," Fox said. Raccoon appeared beside Fox in a swirl of sand.

"And we wanted you to let us know when your scar hurts," Raccoon continued. "It would help us greatly."

"And why the hell would I want to help you?" Harry scoffed.

"Well, you will. Unless you want to die," Fox said bluntly.

"We are here to protect you from Voldemort," Raccoon said.

"And if Voldemort gets near you and hurts you, we fail our mission," Fox said. Harry admitted that it was odd to hear Voldemort's name thrown around so carelessly and said so blandly without the usual hint of fear.

"So all this is about you doing well on your mission?" Fox and Raccoon shrugged.

"Maybe. And anyway, we have Swan. She's a mind reader, so whether you like it or not, we'll know anyway," Fox said. He and Raccoon glanced towards the Entrance Hall.

"The Beauxbatons students," Raccoon murmured. They were coming through the front doors from the grounds. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly. Cat regarded them for a moment, and then stood aside, indicating that they could go, knowing that all the Beauxbatons students were of age.

One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each name entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks.

Harry looked back to the guards, but they had vanished. Cursing, he went back to the Gryffindor table.

"What did they want?" Ron asked, gesturing to the Ninja Table.

"Want me to report to them every time my scar hurts," Harry said, stabbing at his breakfast moodily.

(…)

The ninja decided to spar that day, and so Fox went off to the Quidditch pitch where he knew the rest of the team were training. He left Eagle to tail Harry.

Slug and Stag were already fighting; mere blurs zipping around the pitch. Fox noticed Raven and Raccoon standing on the far side of the stadium.

"Yo, Raven!" Fox yelled to the stoic guard. "Spar with me!"

Raven glanced over at Fox and gave a, "Hn."

Fox and Raven went into their battle positions, and Raccoon called out lazily, "Start!"

Raven made some blurred hand signs, and a jet of fire spurted from his mouth towards Fox. Fox leapt out of the way and made a Rasengan in his hand (1).

Raccoon gave a deep, ominous chuckle.

"I should join in," he said almost casually. He lifted his hands up and the sand from his gourd shot out, speeding towards Fox. Fox saw it and dodged expertly.

"Are you allowed to join in the middle of a fight?" Slug asked, appearing beside Swan, who was standing next to Dog and Akamaru.

"Yeah, because it could happen any time during a real battle," Swan said, "you haven't sparred for a while, so you wouldn't know."

Raccoon made the sand go after Fox, who was hissing with annoyance. It was really taking a lot out of him just to dodge his sand _and_ keep an eye out for Raven's attacks.

A strange chirping filled the stadium, and Slug's head swivelled to where Raven was.

"Chidori," Dog chuckled. "Raven's getting serious."

Stag was lying lazily on one of the seats and was staring up at the sky at the clouds (no surprise there).

(…)

Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way down to Hagrid's cabin after breakfast, deciding to visit their friend. They knocked on the door of Hagrid's hut, eager to see him again.

Eagle had followed them unnoticed, and decided to just keep watch outside Hagrid's cabin.

"'Bout time!" said Hagrid, when he'd flung open the door and seen who was knocking. "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"

"We've been really busy, Hag-" Hermione started to say, but then she stopped dead, looking up at Hagrid, apparently lost for words.

Hagrid was wearing his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow and orange tie. This wasn't the worst of it, though; he had evidently tried to tame his hair, using large quantities of what appeared to be axle grease. It was now slicked down into two bunches – perhaps he had tried a ponytail like Bill's, but found he had too much hair. The look didn't really suit Hagrid at all. For a moment, Hermione goggled at him, then, obviously deciding not to comment, she said, "Erm – where are the Skrewts?"

"Out by the pumpkin patch," said Hagrid happily. "They're gettin' massive. On'y trouble is, they've started killin' each other."

"Oh, no, really?" said Hermione, shooting a repressive look at Ron, who, staring at Hagrid's odd hairstyle, had just opened his mouth to say something about it.

"Yeah," said Hagrid sadly. "'S'okay though, I've got 'em in separate boxes now. Still got abou' twenty."

"Oh, that's lucky," said Ron. Hagrid missed the sarcasm.

The four spent an enjoyable afternoon with Hagrid, talking about the Triwizard Tournament and arguing with Hermione about S.P.E.W.

Around mid-afternoon, a light rain started to fall, and by half past five, it was growing dark. Harry, Ron and Hermione decided that it was time to go back to the castle.

"I'll come with yeh," said Hagrid, putting away his darning. "Jus' give us a sec."

Hagrid got up, went across to the chest of drawers beside his bed and began searching for something inside it. They didn't pay too much attention, until a truly horrible smell reached their nostrils.

Coughing, Ron said, "Hagrid, what's that?"

"Eh?" said Hagrid, turning around with a large bottle in his hand. "Don' yeh like it?"

"Is that aftershave?" said Hermione, in a slightly choked voice.

"Er – eau de Cologne," Hagrid uttered. He was blushing. "Maybe it's a bit much," he said gruffly. "I'll go take it off, hang on…"

He stumped out of the cabin, and they saw him washing himself vigorously in the water barrel outside the window.

"Eau de Cologne?" said Hermione in amazement. "_Hagrid_?"

"And what's with the hair and the suit?" said Harry in an undertone.

"Look!" said Ron suddenly, pointing out of the window.

Hagrid had just straightened up and turned round. If he had been blushing before, it was nothing to what he was going now. Getting to their feet very cautiously, so that Hagrid wouldn't spot them, Harry, Ron and Hermione peered through the window and saw that Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students had just emerged from their carriage, clearly about to set off for the feast, too. They couldn't hear what Hagrid was saying, but he was talking to Madame Maxime with a rapt, misty-eyed expression Harry had only ever seen him wear once before – when he had been looking at the baby dragon, Norbert.

"He's going up to the castle with her!" said Hermione indignantly. "I thought he was waiting for us?"

Without so much as a backwards glance at his cabin, Hagrid was trudging off up the grounds with Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons students following in their wake, jogging to keep up with their enormous strides.

"He fancies her!" said Ron incredulously. "Well, if they end up having children, they'll be setting a world record – bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."

They let themselves out of the cabin and shut the door behind them. It was surprisingly dark outside. Drawing their cloaks more closely around themselves, they set off up the sloping lawns.

The Durmstrang party were walking up towards the castle from the lake. Viktor Krum was walking side by side with Karkaroff, and the other Durmstrang students were straggling along behind them. Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum did not look around as he reached the front doors a little ahead of them.

When the trio reached the Entrance Hall, they found that the Goblet of Fire had been moved, and it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table.

"Fox," Slug hissed venomously, appearing before the guard. "You left Cat to guard that damn Goblet for the whole of the twenty four hours! You didn't even bother to relieve her! Do you know how _tired_ she is?" She cracked her knuckles.

"Crap," Fox said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Cat…"

Cat had appeared behind Slug, trying to calm the pinkette down.

"You're _sorry_?" Slug roared. "You're _sorry_? Is that all you can say after putting her through all that _trouble_ of annoying students who won't do as they are told and staying awake for about forty eight hours? You're _sorry_?"

She drew back her hand and punched Fox all the way out the great oak doors. Several of the students gasped and craned their necks to see what had happened to the fallen guard.

Fox went back into the Hall again, trying to recover his dignity. Slug had calmed down and had sat at the Ninja Table along with the others.

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, but nobody seemed to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as he would normally have done.

Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, Harry simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions.

"The students need to learn to be patient," Raven said, looking at the sea of people in front of him.

"Yeah, all the restlessness is getting on my nerves," Slug said. "I want to punch something again."

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through the next chamber" – he indicated the door behind the staff table – "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and gave a great swooping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them all into a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful to the eyes.

"It's gonna spit the names out soon," Dog said.

The flames inside the Goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue white.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

A storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Viktor Krum rose from the Slytherin table and slouched up towards Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the Goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour."

When Fleur, too, had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next…

And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

The uproar from the Hufflepuff table was so great that the ninja clapped their hands over their ears as the Hufflepuffs screamed and stamped. Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off towards the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent," Dumbledore called happily, as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions…"

"Something's wrong," Stag said. "The Goblet…"

Dumbledore, too, had seen what Stag had noticed.

The fire in the Goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame suddenly shot into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.

Fox had a _very_ bad feeling.

Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it.

There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. Cat let out a breath as she read what was on the parchment with her Byakugan.

"Oh no," she whispered.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, and read out –

"Harry Potter."

"..."

"Troublesome."

End chapter.

**(1****) Naruto/Fox can do the Rasengan without any aid from his clones now.**

**Finally, things are heating up. Took eight chapters, but the Triwizard T****ournament is here *grin* **

**And yeah, about the fourth task. ****I think Dumbledore agreed a little too easily, but I didn't know how else to put it. The reasons why Mr Crouch let the fourth task happen will be explored later in the story. **


	9. All Falling Apart

**Sorry everyone! I would have replied to all your reviews, but FanFiction was being an idiot, and said something along the lines of "Oops! You have clicked on something-I-can't-be-bothered-remembering!" And I know you can reply to someone's review if you go to the reviews page and click on the little speech bubble mark on the top right hand corner of the review, and I did that a few times, but then I lost track of who I replied to and who I ****hadn't replied to… so, I gave up .**

**Anyway, my thanks to: ****Lord Claw****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****scione****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****Ichigo's-Lover-1996****, ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****alchemists19****, ****dattebayo4321****, ****tenshi-no-akuma-81****, ****SiriusBalisticPretzels****, ****BloodTrinity****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****narutoshamanking****, jackie, ****JayneParker**

**Chapter Nine: All Falling Apart**

(…)

Fox stood up slowly, never taking his eyes off the shell-shocked figure sitting at the Gryffindor table.

A low buzzing filled the hall, like the sound of angry bees.

"Crap," Dog whispered.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

Hermione pushed a dazed Harry out of his seat, and Fox went around the Ninja Table, going up to meet Dumbledore.

"What's going on?" he asked in a low voice. Dumbledore shook his head; he didn't know either.

Harry moved off along the teachers' table. Hagrid was sitting right at the end. He did not wink at Harry, or wave, or give any of his usual signs of greeting. He looked completely astonished, and stared at Harry as he passed, like everyone else. Harry went through the door out of the Great Hall, and found himself in a smaller room, lined with paintings of witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite him.

The faces in the portraits turned to look at him as he entered. He saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard with a walrus moustache. The wizened witch started whispering in his ear.

"More trouble," Fox sighed as he appeared with a _poof _beside Harry. Harry ignored him.

Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. They looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back, staring into the fire. Fleur Delacour looked around when Harry and Fox walked in, and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair.

"What is it?" she said. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

She thought he had come to deliver a message. Harry didn't know how to explain what just happened. He just stood there, looking at the three champions. It struck him how very tall all of them were.

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind him, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took Harry by the arm, completely brushing Fox aside, and led him forwards.

"Extraordinary," he muttered, squeezing Harry's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen… lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce – incredible though it may seem – the _fourth_ Triwizard champion?"

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry. Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to Harry and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Fleur Delacour, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

Krum's thick eyebrows contracted slightly. Cedric was still looking politely bewildered.

Fleur frowned. "But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," she said contemptuously to Bagman. "'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

"Well… it is amazing," said Bagman, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Harry. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the Goblet… I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage… it's down in the rules, you're obliged… Harry will just have to do the best he –"

The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore followed closely by Mr Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. The buzzing of hundreds of students was heard on the other side of the wall before Professor McGonagall shut the door.

"Madame Maxime!" said Fleur at once, striding over to her headmistress. "Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!"

Somewhere under Harry's numb disbelief, he felt a ripple of anger. _Little boy?_

Madame Maxime had drawn herself up to her full and considerable height. The top of her handsome head brushed the candle-filled chandelier, and her gigantic black satin bosom swelled.

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she said imperiously.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore," said Professor Karkaroff. He was wearing a steely smile, and his blue eyes were like chips of ice. "_Two_ Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions – or have I not read the rules carefully enough?

He gave a short, nasty laugh.

"_C'est impossible,"_ said Madame Maxime, whose enormous hand with its many superb opals was resting on Fleur's shoulder. "'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most unjust."

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contesters, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, his steely smile still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff," said Snape softly. His black eyes were alight with malice. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here –"

"Thank you, Severus," said Dumbledore firmly, and Snape went quiet, though his eyes still glinted malevolently through his curtain of greasy black hair.

Professor Dumbledore was now looking down at Harry, who looked right back at him, trying to discern the expression of the eyes behind the half-moon spectacles.

"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"No," said Harry. He was very aware of everybody watching him closely. Snape made a soft noise of impatient disbelief in the shadows. Fox shifted.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" said Professor Dumbledore, ignoring Snape.

"_No_," said Harry vehemently.

"Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" cried Madame Maxime. Snape was now shaking his head.

"He could not have crossed the Age Line," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "I am sure we are all agreed on that –"

"Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake wiz ze line," said Madame Maxime, shrugging.

"It is possible, of course," said Dumbledore politely.

"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well you did not make a mistake," said Professor McGonagall angrily. "Really, what nonsense! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as Professor Dumbledore believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him, I'm sure that should be good enough for everybody else!"

She shot a very angry look at Professor Snape.

"Dumbledore-san, if I may?" asked a quiet voice from the shadows. Everybody but Dumbledore jumped, and they glanced over to where the voice came from. Once again, everybody in the room had forgotten about the guards. Fox stepped into the light, followed by Cat and Eagle. How they got in here without anybody noticing, no one could say.

"Of course," Dumbledore said.

"Eagle and Cat both have something to add," Fox said quietly.

"When Harry's name was announced, I had my Byakugan on and surveyed the crowd," Eagle said.

"What's a 'bakuugan'?" Bagman whispered. Dumbledore ignored him.

"Go on," Dumbledore said.

"My Byakugan can see the chakra levels of someone, but they can also sense the energy levels, though not as well chakra (1)," Eagle continued. "And it was too quick for me to see who it was exactly, but someone's energy levels went sky high for a second, before going back to normal. That meant that the person was excited and happy, but there was too much interference for me to see who it really was. Everyone was too confused and shocked, and that blocked me from pinpointing that person. Someone _wants_ Harry to enter the Tournament. Why, I cannot say."

"I can also add that when I was guarding the Goblet, I also activated my Byakugan and I read the name of each piece of parchment that the students held. None of them had Harry's name on it," Cat said.

"But, there is one thing. Late last night, when I was guarding it, I had a sudden bout of dizziness, and I blacked out for a second it two. I think that while I was out, someone slipped past me and did something to the Goblet, as well as putting Harry's name in. I also think that that same person had cast a spell over me so that I would be distracted, giving them the opening to do what they did to the Goblet."

A silence followed after she had finished speaking. Fox was glaring at Cat. Finally, Karkaroff broke it.

"Mr Crouch… Mr Bagman," said Karkaroff, his voice unctuous once more, "you are out – er – objective judges. Surely you would agree that this is most irregular?"

Bagman wiped his round, boyish face with his handkerchief and looked at Mr Crouch, who was standing outside the circle of the firelight, his face half hidden in shadow. He looked slightly eerie, the half darkness making him look older, giving him an almost skull-like appearance. When he spoke, however, it was with his usual curt voice. "We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people who names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the Tournament."

"Well, Barty knows that rulebook back to front," said Bagman, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students," said Karkaroff. He had dropped his unctuous tone and his smile now. His face wore a very ugly look indeed. "You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that," said Bagman. "The Goblet of Fire's just gone out – it won't re-ignite until the start of the next Tournament -"

"- in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!" exploded Karkaroff. "After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur. I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," growled a voice near the door. "You can't leave your champions now. He's got to compete. They're all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?"

Moody had just entered the room. He limped towards the fire, and with every right step he took, there was a loud _clunk_.

"Convenient?" said Karkaroff. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody."

"Don't you?" said Moody quietly. "It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in that Goblet knowing he'd have to compete if it came out."

"Evidently, someone 'oo wished to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" said Madame Maxime.

"It was a skilled witch or wizard who put the boy's name in that Goblet…"

"Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?" said Madame Maxime, throwing up her huge hands.

"Because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object!" said Moody. "It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that Goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the Tournament… heck, they probably sent some kind of dizziness spell to Cat, who was guarding the Goblet last night, and when she was distracted, charmed the Goblet and put Potter's name in under a fourth school, to make sure he was the only one in his category."

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody," said Karkaroff coldly.

"There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted in a menacing voice. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff – as you ought to remember…"

"Alastor!" said Dumbledore warningly. Harry wondered for a moment at whom he was speaking to, but then realised 'Mad-Eye' could hardly be Moody's real first name. Moody fell silent, though still surveying Karkaroff with satisfaction – Karkaroff's face was burning.

"How this situation arose, we do not know, although we have a good guess," said Dumbledore, speaking to everyone gathered in the room, and glancing at the ninja when he said the last part. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do…"

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr –"

"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it."

Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn't the only one, either. Snape looked furious; Karkaroff livid. Bagman, however, looked rather excited.

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honours?"

Mr Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie.

"Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes… the first task…"

He moved forwards into the firelight.

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told Harry, Cedric, Fleur and Krum, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard… very important…

"The first task will take place on November the twenty fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges.

"The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help in any kind form their teachers to complete the tasks in the Tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the Tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests."

Mr Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore. "I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at Mr Crouch with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, Dumbledore, I must be getting back to the Ministry," said Mr Crouch. "It is a very busy, busy difficult time at the moment… I've left young Weartherby in charge… very enthusiastic… a little over-enthusiastic, if truth be told…"

"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?' said Dumbledore.

"Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" said Bagman brightly. "It's all happening at Hogwarts, now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!"

"I think not, Ludo," said Crouch, with a touch of his old impatience.

"Professor Karkaroff – Madame Maxime – a nightcap?" said Dumbledore.

But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders, and was leading her swiftly out of the room. Harry could hear them both talking very fast in French as they went off into the Great Hall. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they too, exited, though in silence.

"Harry, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed," said Dumbledore, smiling at both of them. "I am sure Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."

Harry glanced at Fox, Cat and Eagle, but then decided that he didn't want them accompanying him.

"Okay," Harry said numbly and left the room with Cedric.

When they had gone, Fox turned back to the remaining teachers.

"This just makes our job harder," Fox sighed. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Moody all looked at him. "We have to watch Potter-san, as well as look out for the person who put his name in the Goblet."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't a student," Eagle said. "The flare of energy came from the teachers' table." An uneasy silence followed.

"What are we going to do, Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Potter is still much too young."

"There's nothing we _can_ do, Minerva," Dumbledore said heavily. He had shielded his concern from Harry, but now that the boy was gone, he showed it.

"We just gotta make sure he doesn't get hurt too seriously," Moody muttered.

"Dumbledore," Fox said slowly. "Is Karkaroff one of Voldemort's followers?" A wince was heard in the room, but Dumbledore ignored it.

"He used to be," Dumbledore told him.

"Right…" Fox said, lost in thought.

"If you'd please excuse us, I have to go and tell this to the others," Fox said. Fox and Eagle disappeared, while Cat bowed and flitted out the door also.

(In the Ninja Common Room)

After Naruto had relayed everything that had gone on in the chamber to his comrades, and thoughtful silence ensured.

"We going to have to be extra careful," Sakura said.

"Whoever wants Potter-san dead really means it," Tenten added. "I mean, they're going up against _dragons._ Who knows what things that other tasks have in store for them."

"We will have to watch Potter-san even more closely than before," Sasuke said. He ran a hand through his hair. "Great."

Naruto rounded to Hinata, his eyes blazing. He had hidden his anger from everyone until this moment.

"How could they have gotten past you?" Naruto asked sharply, his voice quiet with rage. Hinata looked at him calmly, though she had a tiny frown on her face.

"I don't know," she said simply, "but I already told you: I suddenly became dizzy last night. It was probably the work of a wizard."

"You should have at least sensed whoever it was who charmed you," Naruto hissed. "You're an ANBU. Stuff like this shouldn't slip past you."

"I'm sorry," Hinata murmured. She didn't know what else to say.

"Naruto, stop it," Neji said, folding his arms. "We won't change anything if you just stand there and yell at her." Naruto glared at both of the Hyuga, but then turned away.

"Fine," Naruto said quietly.

"Do we know anyone who might have a reason to hurt Potter-san?" Tenten asked.

"Seriously, the only person who wants to hurt Potter-san is that Voldemort guy," Ino said. "And he's supposed to be in some distant country, in hiding and alone, according to what Dumbledore-san has told us."

"Maybe one of his followers is here," Shikamaru suggested. "It's highly likely. Aren't they called Death Eaters?"

"Yeah," Naruto said.

"It's probably that Karkaroff man," Kiba said. "He looks very suspicious."

"Didn't Dumbledore-san say that Voldemort's followers have some kind of mark on their arms?" Naruto asked.

"The Dark Mark," Hinata said. "It's in the shape of a skull with a snake coming out of it, or something like that."

"Do you think we should check?" Neji said. "Hinata's and my Byakugan can see through their sleeves. We could see if Karkaroff has that Mark."

"Nah, you don't have to check. Dumbledore-san already confirmed that he's a Death Eater," Naruto said.

Gaara was staring out the window, his pale green eyes lost in thought. Finally, he spoke, catching everyone's attention.

"It's too obvious," Gaara said. "I read a report on Karkaroff, and apparently he sent a lot of his Death Eater friends to the wizarding prison, Azkaban. By doing that, he wouldn't be very popular, would he?"

"Maybe he's doing this to get back into Voldemort's favour," Ino said.

"Yes," Gaara said, "but still, it's too _obvious_. I just have a feeling that it's not him that put Potter-san's name into the Goblet."

Silence.

"Okay, sleep!" Naruto announced. His anger earlier had completely disappeared.

"What about guard duty?" Neji asked. Naruto shook his head.

"Have you guys seen yourselves in the mirror lately?" he asked. "You all look dead tired. Go get some rest. I'll just make a few _Kage Bunshins _to do the guarding."

There were sighs of relief around the circle, and as they passed him and into the dorms, they bid him good night. Naruto made some _Kage Bunshins_, gave them instructions, and he too, went up to bed.

Sakura and Gaara were left sitting in front of the fireplace. Gaara stood up.

"I'm going to go for a walk," Gaara said quietly.

"I'll go with you," Sakura said. "I can't sleep."

"You should," Gaara said, "you're gonna get sick from sleep-deprivation." Sakura chucked quietly.

"You didn't sleep for years," she pointed out. Gaara shrugged.

"I got used to it," he replied. "Besides, Shukaku helped me."

"Whatever," Sakura said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "I still want to go for a walk."

"Naruto," Gaara called up, knowing that the blonde could hear him. "Sakura and I will do guard duty tonight." After receiving a confirmation from their captain, the pair slipped out into the castle corridors, putting on their masks.

Silver moonlight streaked in from the windows. Occasionally, a student would rush past, or a ghost would float through the walls, but other than that, everything was empty and silent and peaceful. It was only seven o'clock in the evening, but most people had retreated into their respective common rooms, even the teachers. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor common rooms in particular were making a lot of noise.

"Raccoon…" Slug said hesitantly. Raccoon turned his impassive mask towards her.

"When you stay awake at night… what do you normally think about?" Slug asked.

"That question has a wide range of answers," Raccoon said. He turned his face to the window. "But I normally just sit and stare at the moon."

"Why?" Slug asked. Raccoon shrugged.

"… I guess it's because I've been judged without a fair trial all my life," he said quietly, "but when I look at the moon, it doesn't judge me, and I like that."

"That makes sense," she said. Raccoon turned towards her, his mouth curved up slightly under his mask.

"You think?" he asked. She nodded. "You're the first person to say so. But then again, you're the first person I've told."

Slug smiled, and the two continued on their rounds.

(…)

Harry had finally made his way up to the dorms, glad to be away from the chaos and shouting and cheering that engulfed the Gryffindor common room. None of them had believed that he didn't put his name into the Goblet, none of them listened to him; they were just celebrating the fact that there was a Gryffindor champion. He found Ron lying on his bed in the otherwise empty dormitory, still fully dressed. He looked up when Harry slammed the door behind him.

"Where've you been?" Harry said.

"Oh, hello," said Ron, looking up at him.

He was grinning, but it looked a very odd, strained sort of grin. Harry suddenly became aware that he was still wearing the Gryffindor banner that Lee had tied around him when he was down in the common room. He hastened to take it off, but it was knotted very tightly. Ron lay on the bed without moving, watching Harry struggle to remove it.

"So," he said when Harry had finally removed the banner and thrown it into a corner. "Congratulations."

"What d'you mean, congratulations?" said Harry, staring at Ron. There was definitely something wrong with the way Ron was smiling; it was more like a grimace.

"Well… no one else got across the Age Line," said Ron. "Not even Fred and George. What did you use – the Invisibility Cloak?"

"The Invisibility Cloak wouldn't have got me over that line," said Harry slowly.

"Oh, right," said Ron. "I thought you might've told me if it was the Cloak… because it would've covered both of us, wouldn't it? But you found another way, did you?"

"Listen," said Harry, "I didn't put my name in that Goblet. Someone else must've done it."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "What would they do that for?"

"I dunno," said Harry. He felt it would sound very melodramatic to say "to kill me".

Rose eyebrows rose so high that they were in danger of disappearing into his hair.

"It's okay, you know, you can tell _me_ the truth," he said. "If you don't want anyone else to know, fine, but I don't know why you're bothering to lie, you didn't get into trouble for it, did you? That friend of the Fat Lady's, that Violet, she's already told us all, Dumbledore's letting you enter. A thousand Galleons prize money, eh? And you don't have to do any end-of-year tests either…"

"I didn't put my name in that Goblet!" said Harry, starting to feel angry.

"Yeah, okay," said Ron, his tone annoyingly sceptical. "Only you said this morning you'd have done it last night, and no one would've seen you… I'm not stupid, you know."

"You're doing a really good impression of it," Harry snapped.

"Yeah?" said Ron, and there was no trace of a grin, forced or otherwise, on his face now. "You want to get to bed, Harry, I expect you'll need to be up early tomorrow for a photo call or something."

He wrenched the hangings shut around his four-poster bed, leaving Harry standing there by the door, staring at the dark velvet curtains, now hiding one of the few people he had been sure would believe him.

Sticking to the roof, a Fox-clone stood there, silently shaking his head at the two boys.

_Brats_,he thought. _I can't believe they're fighting over something so trivial._

Ron was being unreasonable, Fox-clone decided. I better dispel so I can report this to Fox-original. There was a _poof_ as the clone vanished, leaving behind two angry boys, both furious for different reasons.

"Potter-san and Weasley-san got into a fight," Naruto reported to the others the next morning.

"Eh? Why?" Sakura asked. The ninja were having breakfast in the Shinobi Quarters, not bothering to go down to the Great Hall.

"I think Weasley-san is jealous," Naruto said.

"Jealous?" Kiba repeated.

"Probably," Shikamaru said with a yawn. "From what I've heard, Weasley-san is always in thrown into the shadows. He's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and when he goes to school, Potter-san is always in the spotlight. Not that it's Potter-san's fault," he added.

"Think they'll make up?" Tenten asked.

"They will, just give them some time," Hinata said.

"And remember, this isn't our fight. Try not to get involved," Gaara warned them.

"Gaara's right, they have to work this out for themselves," Ino said.

"It's not like I want to get involved in the idiots' fight anyway," Naruto said.

"So what are we doing today?" Neji asked. Naruto shrugged.

"What we always do on Sundays," Naruto replied. "We go train."

"_Dobe,"_ Sasuke called.

"_Nani?"_

"Train with me."

A grin.

"Fine."

(…)

The next morning, Ron had left the dorms before Harry awoke, and so Harry had the pleasure of not seeing his face.

He and Hermione walked around the lake, Harry eating, and they both discussed what happened last night.

"Ron's jealous," Hermione said.

"_Jealous_?" Harry said incredulously when Hermione announced this little fact. "Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of herself in front of the whole school, does he?"

"Look," said Hermione patiently, "it's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault," she added quickly, seeing Harry open his mouth furiously, "I know you don't ask for it… but – well – you know, Ron's got all these brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous – he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many…"

"Great," said Harry bitterly. "Really great. Tell him from me I'll swap any time he wants. Tell him from me he's welcome to it… people gawping at my forehead everywhere I go…"

"I'm not telling him anything," Hermione said shortly. "Tell him yourself, it's the only way to sort this out."

"I'm not running around after him trying to make him grow up!" Harry said, so loudly that several owls in a nearby tree took flight in alarm. "Maybe he'll believe I'm not enjoying myself once I've got my neck broken or –"

"That's not funny," said Hermione quietly. "That's not funny at all." She looked extremely anxious. "Harry, I've been thinking – you know what you've got to do, don't you? Straight away, the moment we get back to the castle?"

"Yeah, give Ron a good kick up in the –"

"_Write to Sirius. _ You've got to tell him what's happened. He asked you to keep him posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts… it's almost like he expected something like this to happen. I brought some parchment and a quill out with me –"

Before Harry could protest, however, Slug appeared with a _poof_ behind the pair.

"Hermione has got the right idea," she said quietly, her pink hair swaying in the breeze.

"What do you want?" Harry snapped. Hermione punched his arm.

"Nothing. Just wanted a walk by the lake," Slug said. Her emerald eyes were far away as she stared at the glittering depths. Harry groaned.

"Argh! I don't know what to do!" he growled, pulling at his black hair. Slug and Hermione looked at him.

"Write to Sirius."

"Write to Black-san."

The two girls glanced at each other. Hermione gave her a tiny smile, and she had a feeling that Slug was doing the same.

Harry, defeated, went back up to the castle, no longer wanting to snap at the guards. He didn't want to give any more reasons for them to hate him, since he knew that he wouldn't be very popular with the other students.

(…)

The next day, Harry could no longer avoid the rest of the school once he was back in lessons. It was clear that the rest of the school, just like the Gryffindors, thought Harry had entered himself for the Tournament. Unlike the Gryffindors, however, they did not seem impressed.

The Hufflepuffs, who were usually on excellent terms with the Gryffindors, had turned remarkably cold towards the whole lot of them. One Herbology lesson was enough to demonstrate this. It was plain that the Hufflepuffs felt that Harry had stolen their champion's gory; a feeling exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact that Hufflepuff house vey rarely got any glory, and that Cedric was one of the few who had ever given them any, having beaten Gryffindor once at Quidditch.

Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, with whom Harry normally got on with very well, did not talk to him even though they were re-potting Bouncing Bulbs at the same tray – though they did laugh rather unpleasantly when one of the Bouncing Bulbs wriggled free from Harry's grip and smacked him hard in the face.

Ron wasn't talking to Harry either. Hermione sat between them, making very forced conversation, but though both answered her normally, they avoided making eye contact with each other.

Harry thought that even Professor Sprout seemed distant with him – but then again, she was Head of Hufflepuff house.

To his immense relief, all the guards and Hermione accepted his story without question: that he didn't put his name in the Goblet, but none of them could really do anything about hatred the school seemed to direct to him.

Harry would have been looking forward to seeing Hagrid under normal circumstances, but Care of Magical Creatures meant seeing the Slytherins, too – the first time he would come face to face with them since becoming champion.

Predictably, Malfoy arrived at Hagrid's cabin with his familiar sneer in place.

"Ah, look, boys, it's the champion," he said to Crabbe and Goyle, the moment he got within earshot of Harry. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer… half the Triwizard champions have died… how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."

"If you don't shut up, your life's gonna end in ten minutes," Raven said in a cold voice, appearing with a _poof_ beside Harry and Hermione, "or maybe even less."

Today, it seemed as though Slug had asked the rest of the ninja to be more friendlier, and although some of them still were cold and stony, they no longer looked at Harry as though he was a piece of dog crap any more.

Hagrid emerged from the back of his cabin, holding a teetering tower of crates, each containing a very large Blast-Ended Skrewt. To the class's horror, Hagrid proceeded to explain that the reason the Skrewts had been killing each other was an excess of pent-up energy, and that the solution would be for each of the class to fix a leash on a Skrewt and take it for a short walk. The only good thing about his plan was that it distracted Malfoy completely.

"Take this thing for a walk?" he repeated in disgust, staring into one of the boxes. "And where exactly are we supposed to fix the leash? Around the sting, the blasting end or the sucker?"

"Roun' the middle," said Hagrid, demonstrating.

"Don't worry, it's real easy," Fox said, coming out of the Forbidden Forest. "Hagrid-san let me have a go yesterday. They're not very strong at all."

Hagrid smiled at the guard.

Hagrid waited until everyone else had set off with their Skrewts, then turned to Harry, whom he had pulled away from the rest of the class, and said, very seriously, "So – yer competin', Harry. In the Tournament. School champion."

"One of the champions," Harry corrected him.

Hagrid's beetle-black eyes looked very anxious under his wild eyebrows. "No idea who put yeh in fer it, Harry?"

"You believe I didn't do it, them?" said Harry, concealing with difficulty the rush of gratitude he felt at Hagrid's words.

"'Course I do," Hagrid grunted. "Yeh say it wasn' you, an' I believe yeh – an' Dumbledore believes yer, an' all."

"Wish I knew who _did_ do it," said Harry bitterly.

The pair of them looked out over the lawn; the class was widely scattered now, and all in great difficulty. The Skrewts were now over two metres **(A/N I made up that measurement)** long, and extremely powerful. No longer shell-less and colourless, they had developed a kind of thick, greyish shiny armour. They looked like a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs – but still without recognisable heads or eyes. They had become immensely strong, and very hard to control.

"Look like they're havin' fun, don' they?" Hagrid said happily. Harry assumed he was talking about the Skrewts, because his classmates certainly weren't; every now and then, with an alarming _bang_, one of the Skrewts' ends would explode, causing it to shoot forward several metres, and more than one person was being dragged along their stomach, trying desperately to get back on their feet.

The only people who could control them, it seemed, were Fox and Raven. Both were holding two Skrewts each, and were looking as though they were having a walk in the park. Every now and then, they would bend down and lift someone back onto their feet, all the while maintaining control on their Skrewts.

"Ah, I don' know, Harry," Hagrid sighed suddenly, looking back down at him with a worried expression on his face. "School champion… everythin' seems ter happen ter you, doesn' it?"

Harry didn't answer. Yes, everything did see to happen to him… that was more or less what Hermione had said as they had walked around the lake with Slug, and that was the reason, according to her, that Ron was no longer talking to him.

(…)

"Dumbledore, you cannot be serious!" Fudge cried, wringing his hands.

He had arrived at Hogwarts that evening, and had gone straight to the headmaster's office.

"Potter, a champion?" Fudge repeated. "This can't be."

"Someone hoodwinked the Cup, Cornelius," Dumbledore said quietly. "Even the guards think so." Fudge looked as though someone had slapped him in the face.

"Well, now to the reason why I originally planned to come," Fudge said hastily. "The ninja." Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, pressed his fingers together and surveyed the Minister.

"And what about them?" Dumbledore asked. Fudge seemed to be struggling not to shout.

"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well what I think of them!" Fudge blustered. "They are savages, killers from a young age. All those books about them, however little information they may hold, have all said the same thing: they are dangerous."

Dumbledore merely looked at him.

"They may be dangerous, Cornelius," he said, "but they are loyal to their clients."

"Loyal?" Fudge repeated, "Dumbledore, that is the last thing they are. For heavens' sake, I have heard that they kill from six years of age, and wouldn't hesitate to murder a child if that's what they feel like at the time."

"And where have you heard this from?" Dumbledore asked.

"Books!" Fudge said.

"Books," Dumbledore repeated calmly. "Cornelius, we haven't been in contact with them for over a hundred years. For all you know, their ways may have changed."

"May have, Dumbledore, only may have," Fudge said. "We can't take that risk."

"Cornelius, what danger do they impose on you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well-well, they could turn on you and kill us all," Fudge said, his face reddening.

"And do you believe that I would let them run wild and out of control?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, of course not, but even so, Dumbledore," Fudge said.

"Cornelius, they are perfectly safe," Dumbledore said, very firmly, "I put my absolute trust in them."

"But I don't," Fudge said.

"You can't make them leave, anyway, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "They must stay here until the end of their mission."

"But what if the guards are in league with You-Know-Who?" Fudge asked.

"And what proof do you have of that?" Dumbledore asked.

"Their masks! Their weapons!" Fudge said, almost twisting his bowler hat out of shape.

"That is the standard uniform for people of their rank," Dumbledore said, looking at his fingers as though they were the most interesting things in the world.

"What if they made that little titbit of information up?" Fudge asked.

"Cornelius, you are winding things out of proportion," Dumbledore said.

Fudge sighed, knowing from experience that the headmaster would not change his mind.

"If that's what you insist," he said, turning to leave, "but I will be keeping an eye on them."

(…)

The next few days were some of Harry's worst at Hogwarts. The closest he had ever come to feeling like this had been during those months, in his second year, when a large part of the school had suspected him of attacking his fellow students. But Ron had been on his side then. He thought he could have coped with the rest of the school's behaviour if he could just have Ron back as a friend, but he wasn't going to try and persuade Ron to talk to him if Ron didn't want to. Nevertheless, it was lonely, with dislike pouring in on him from all sides.

He could understand the Hufflepuffs' attitudes, even though he didn't like it; they had their own champion to support. He expected nothing less than vicious insults from the Slytherins. But he had hoped the Ravenclaws might have found it in their hearts to support him as much as Cedric. He was wrong, however. Most Ravenclaws seemed to think that he had been desperate to earn himself a bit more fame by tricking the Goblet into accepting his name.

Meanwhile there was no reply from Sirius, Hedwig was refusing to come anywhere near him, Professor Trelawney was predicting his death with even more certainty than usual, and he did so badly at Summoning Charms in Professor Flitwick's class that he was given extra homework.

The only good thing was that the guards seemed to scare away everyone who insulted him. When the guards were following him, no one dared to glare at Harry, no one dared to shout out abuse, in fact, no one even wanted to look in his direction in case the ninja were feeling sadistic that day. But the shinobi couldn't be there forever; as soon as no guard was in sight, the hatred poured in again.

Double Potions was always a horrible experience, but these days it was nothing short of torture. Being shut in a dungeon for an hour and a half with Snape and the Slytherins, all of whom seemed determined to punish Harry as much as possible for daring to become school champion, was about the most unpleasant thing Harry could imagine.

When he and Hermione arrived outside Snape's dungeon after lunch, they found the Slytherins waiting outside, each and every one of them wearing a large badge on the front of his or her robes. For one wild moment Harry thought they were S.P.E.W. badges – then he saw that they all bore the same message, in luminous red letters that burnt brightly in the dimly lit underground passage.

_Support CEDRIC DIGGORY – _

_The REAL Hogwarts Champion!_

"Like them, Potter?" said Malfoy loudly, as Harry approached. "And this isn't all they do – look!"

He pressed his badge into his chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by another once, which glowed green:

_POTTER STINKS_

The Slytherins howled with laughter. Each of them pressed their badges too, until the message _POTTER STINKS _was shining brightly all around Harry. He felt the heat rise in his face and neck.

"Oh, _very_ funny," said Hermione sarcastically to Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin girls, who were laughing harder than anyone, "really _witty_."

Ron was standing against the wall with Dean and Seamus. He wasn't laughing, but he wasn't sticking up for Harry either.

"Want one, Granger?" said Malfoy, holding out a badge to Hermione. "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."

Some of the anger Harry had been feeling for days and days seemed to burst through a dam in his chest. He had reached for his wand before he'd thought what he was doing. People all around them scrambled out of the way, backing down the corridor.

"Harry!" Hermione said warningly.

"Go on, then, Potter," Malfoy said quietly, drawing out his own wand. "Moody or Stag's not here to look after you now – do it, if you've got the guts –"

For a split second, they looked into each other's eyes, then, at exactly the same time, both acted.

"_Furnunculus!_" Harry yelled.

"_Densaugeo!_" screamed Malfoy.

Jets of light shot from both wands, hit each other in mid-air, and ricocheted off at angles – Harry's hit Goyle in the face, and Malfoy's hit Hermione. Goyle bellowed and put his hands to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up – Hermione, whimpering in panic, was clutching her mouth.

"Hermione!" On had hurried forwards to see what was wrong with her.

Harry turned and saw Ron dragging Hermione's hand away from her face. It wasn't a pretty sight. Hermione's front teeth – already larger than average – were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver as her teeth elongated, past her bottom lip, towards her chin – panic-stricken, she felt them, and let out a terrified cry.

"I seriously cannot leave you guys alone for one minute!" snarled a voice behind them. Harry looked up and Cat, Raccoon and Eagle coming towards them. "One little meeting gone overtime, and you guys have already jinxed each other!"

"And what is all this noise about?" said a soft, deadly voice. Snape had arrived. Fabulous.

The Slytherins clamoured to give their explanations. Snape pointed a yellow finger at Malfoy and said, "Explain."

"Potter attacked me, sir –"

"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.

"- and he hit Goyle – look –"

Snape examined Goyle, whose face now resembled something that would have been at home in a book on poisonous fungi.

"Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.

"Malfoy got Hermione!" said Ron. "_Look!_"

He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth – she was doing her best to best them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown past her collar. Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls were doubled up in silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back. They all shut up, though, when Cat gave them a killer glare.

Snape looked coldly at Hermione, and then said, "I see no difference."

Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the corridor and out of sight.

It was lucky, perhaps, that both Harry and Ron started shouting at Snape at the same time; lucky their voice echoed so much in the stone corridor, for in the confused din, it was impossible for him to hear exactly what they were calling him. He got the gist, however.

"Let's see," he said, in his silkiest voice. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a week's worth of detentions."

"Excuse me, Snape-san," Eagle said coldly. "We have to deal with Malfoy-san." The class stopped, the Gryffindors eager to hear what Malfoy had to do, and the Slytherins worried. Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? I wasn't aware that Malfoy has done anything," he said. Raccoon rolled his eyes.

"Your favouritism regarding the Slytherins is highly unfair and unjust. While you may ignore the fact that both Potter-san _and_ Malfoy-san were duelling, _we_ won't. And we will punish _both_ Potter-san and Malfoy-san for what their spells did, whether you like it or not. So Potter-san and Malfoy-san will have detention tonight, at 6 o'clock. They will meet us in the Great Hall. Is that clear?" Raccoon said, eyeing Harry and Malfoy at the last part. They both gulped and nodded.

"And twenty points from Slytherin for unauthorised duelling," Cat added, her normally kind voice layered with annoyance.

The cords in Snape's neck stood out, but then he said, "Well now, get inside, all of you."

The class filed inside in silence, the guards slipping in last.

"Antidotes!" said Snape, looking around at all of them, his cold black eyes glittering unpleasantly. "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then we will be selecting someone on whom to test one…"

Snape's eyes met Harry's, and Harry knew what was coming. Snape was going to poison _him._ Harry imagined picking up his cauldron, and sprinting to the front of the class, and bringing it down on Snape's greasy head –

And then a knock on the dungeon door burst in on Harry's thoughts.

It was Colin Creevey; he edged into the room, beaming at Harry, and walked up to Snape's desk at the front of the room.

"Yes?" said Snape curtly.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs."

Snape stared down his hooked nose at Colin, whose smile faded from his eager face.

"Potter has another hour of Potions to complete," said Snape coldly. "He will come upstairs when this class is finished."

Colin went pink.

"Sir – sir, Mr Bagman wants him," he said nervously. "All the champions have got to go, I think I they want to do photographs…"

Harry would have given anything he owned to have stopped Colin saying those last few words. He chanced half a glance at Ron, but Ron was staring determinedly at the ceiling.

"Very well, very well," Snape snapped. "Potter, leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir – he's got to take his things with him," squeaked Colin. "All the champions –"

"Very _well!_" said Snape. "Potter – take your bag and get out of my sight!"

Harry swung his bag over his shoulder, got up and headed for the door. As he walked through the Slytherin desks, _POTTER STINKS _flashed at him from every direction.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry?" said Colin, starting to speak the moment Harry had closed the dungeon door behind him. "Isn't it, though? You being champion?"

"Yeah, really amazing," said Harry heavily, as they set off towards the steps into the Entrance Hall. "What do they want photos for, Colin?"

"The _Daily Prophet_, I think!"

"Great," said Harry dully. "Exactly what I need. More publicity."

"Good luck!" said Colin, when they had reached the right room. Harry knocked on the door, and entered.

"Wow," whispered a familiar voice. Harry jumped; he could never get used to the guards' sudden appearances.

"Cat," he said. The blue haired girl nodded at him.

The classroom they had entered was fairly small; most of the desk had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them, however, had been placed, end to end, in front of the blackboard, and covered with a long length of velvet. Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to a witch Harry had never seen before, who was wearing magenta robes.

Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner, as usual. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Bagman suddenly spotted Harry, got up quickly and bounded forwards. "Ah, here he is! Champion number four! In you come Harry, and uh, guard," he added, spotting Cat. "Nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment –"

Cat slipped off to the side, not liking to be in the spotlight and observed in the shadows.

"Wand Weighing?" Harry repeated nervously.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," said Bagman. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing towards the witch in magenta robes, "she's going a small piece on the Tournament for the _Daily Prophet_…"

"Maybe not _that_ small, Ludo," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes on Harry.

Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jewelled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in long nails, painted crimson.

Cat studied Rita Skeeter closely, and she decided that the woman would cause all of them trouble in the future. She sighed; another problem.

End chapter.

**Cutting it off there :D**

**Phew, this chapter took me a while to write. **

**(1****) Uh… about Neji seeing energy levels… I made that up. I'm pretty sure the Byakugan can only see chakra levels… but oh well. **


	10. Rita Skeeter, Relationships and Articles

**Hm… you know, every time there is a new review, I ****always hold my breath as I click it in case it's a bad review, and then when I read it and it's a good one, I let out my breath again. And then the whole process starts all over again when I open the next email telling me there is a new review. This happens especially after I post a new chapter. Is this normal?**

**Thank you to: Jacey, ****dattebayo4321****, ****SillyChicha14****, ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****templar627****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****WinxPossible**

**:D**

**I'm sorry, I still can't reply to reviews. Damn stupid FF.**

**Let's see, let's see…**

**Chapter Ten: Rita Skeeter****, Relationships and Articles**

(…)

"I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start." Rita Skeeter said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly at Harry. "The youngest champion, you know… to add a bit of colour?"

"Certainly," cried Bagman. "That is – if Harry has no objection?"

"Er –" said Harry.

"Lovely," said Rita Skeeter, and in a second, her scarlet-taloned fingers had Harry's upper arm in a surprisingly strong grip, and she was steering him out of the room again and opening a nearby door.

"We don't want to be in there with all that noise," she said. "Let's see… ah, yes, this is nice and cosy."

It was a broom cupboard. Harry stared at her.

"Come along, dear – that's right – lovely," said Rita Skeeter again, perching herself precariously upon an upturned bucket, pushing Harry down onto a cardboard box and closing the door, throwing them into darkness.

Cat had followed Harry and Rita Skeeter silently, and being the ninja she was, nobody noticed. She sighed again when the broom cupboard's door closed, and settled herself right outside of it. With her superior hearing, she could hear everything that went on inside.

"Let's see now…" Rita Skeeter mumbled. She unsnapped her crocodile-skin handbag and pulled out a handful of candles, which she lit with a wave of her wand and magicked into mid-air, so that they could see what they were doing.

"You don't mind, Harry, I use a Quick-Quotes Quill? It leaves me free to talk to you normally."

"A what?" said Harry.

Rita Skeeter's smile widened. Harry counted three gold teeth. She reached again into her crocodile bag, and drew out a long, acid-green quill and a roll of parchment, which she stretched out between them on a crate of Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess-Remover. She put the tip of the green quill into her mouth, sucked it for a moment with apparent relish, and then placed it upright on the parchment, where it stood balanced on its point, quivering slightly.

"Testing… my name is Rita Skeeter, _Daily Prophet_ reporter."

Harry looked down quickly on the quill. The moment Rita Skeeter had spoken the green quill had started to scribble, skidding across the parchment.

_Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty three, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations –_

"Lovely," said Rita Skeeter, yet again, and she ripped the top piece of parchment off, crumpled it up and stuffed it into her handbag. Now she leant towards Harry and said, "So, Harry… what made you decide to enter the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Er –" said Harry again, but he was distracted by the quill. Even though he wasn't speaking, it was dashing across the parchment, and in its wake he could make out a fresh sentence:

_An ugly scar, souvenir of a tragic past, disfigures the otherwise charming face of Harry Potter, whose eyes –_

"Ignore the quill, Harry," said Rita Skeeter firmly.

Outside, Cat had activated Byakugan, and looked on with annoyance as Rita Skeeter asked Harry questions, ignored his answers and let the quill make up sentences. This went on for about fifteen minutes, in which Cat debated pulling Harry out of the cupboard or just letting him be.

Dumbledore came striding out of the classroom, an amused expression on his face.

"Good day, Cat," he said, bowing to her.

"And to you, Dumbledore-san," Cat replied, bowing also.

"I assume that Rita Skeeter has Harry trapped in that broom cupboard?" Dumbledore asked. Cat nodded.

Dumbledore pulled open the door of the cupboard, and bright light poured in.

Harry looked around and spotted Cat and Dumbledore, both of whom were staring down at Harry ad Rita Skeeter, squashed inside.

"_Dumbledore!_" cried Rita Skeeter with every appearance of delight – but Harry noticed that her quill and the parchment suddenly vanished from the box of Magical Mess-Remover, and Rita's clawed fingers were hastily snapping shut the clasp of her crocodile-skin bag. "How are you?" she said, standing up and holding out one of her large, mannish hands to Dumbledore. "I hope you saw my piece over the summer about the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference?"

"Enchantingly nasty," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "I particularly enjoyed your description of me as an obsolete dingbat." Cat coughed in amusement.

Rita Skeeter didn't look remotely abashed. "I was just making the point that your ideas are a little old-fashioned, Dumbledore, and that many wizards in the street –"

"I will be delighted to hear the reasoning behind the rudeness, Rita," said Dumbledore, with a courteous bow and a smile, "but I'm afraid we will have to discuss the matter later. The Weighing of the Wands is about to start, and it cannot take place if one of our champions is hidden in a broom cupboard."

Very glad to get away from Rita Skeeter, Harry hurried back into the room. The other champions were now sitting in chairs near the door, and he sat down quickly next to Cedric, looking up at the velvet-covered table, where four of the five judges were now sitting – Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr Crouch and Ludo Bagman.

Cat hovered in the shadows, and she noticed Rita Skeeter's eyes narrow onto her. The woman made her way around the room, and Cat tensed up.

"Hello, dear," Rita Skeeter said sweetly. "Do you mind if I have a word with you?"

The pair moved towards the door so they didn't disturb the Wand Weighing Ceremony.

"Sorry, I have to stay to watch over Potter-san," Cat said.

"Oh, but it will only take a minute," Rita said sweetly. "Not long at all. Harry won't even notice you're gone."

"No, I can't take that risk," Cat said, a little more firmly. "I'm sorry, but you won't be getting an interview from me." With that said, Cat turned her back on Rita Skeeter. The woman bit her lip, clearly disappointed.

"Well then, how about I ask you just a few questions right here?" Rita Skeeter asked. Cat huffed.

"Fine," Cat said. Rita Skeeter smiled, clearly delighted.

"Why did you take up this mission?" she asked.

"My leader assigned it to me," Cat responded. She decided to keep her answers quick and short.

"Is that all? Did you ever want to take this mission because you know of Harry's past?" Rita said.

"What do you mean?" Cat said, confused.

"Well," Rita Skeeter said with fake sympathy, "I've heard that most ninja do not have any parents. Is that true?"

"... Somewhat," Cat said. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I've also heard that the guards issue regular death threats," Rita Skeeter said. "How do you feel about that?"

"My... comrades issue death threats all the time," Cat said. "It's... normal. I don't really feel anything."

She knew at once that that was the wrong thing to say. But it was too late to take it back. The Quick-Quotes Quill was scribbling excitedly across the page.

"Are you and Eagle related in any way?" Rita Skeeter asked, leaning forward.

"Why do you ask?" Cat said.

"We can see through those eye holes of yours," Rita beamed. "You and Eagle have the same eyes."

"Well, he's my cousin," Cat said evasively.

"Excellent," Rita Skeeter said. "Well, Cat. If you don't mind me going. I have a news report to write on the champions. Please excuse me."

With that, Rita Skeeter hurried back inside, leaving Cat staring in her wake.

Cat went back inside, waiting, and when it was time for the photos she hung around the door, not wanting to get caught in the snapshots. Finally, they were finished, and she accompanied Harry to the Great Hall.

She spotted Eagle and Fox sitting at the Ninja Table and she made her way towards them.

"Cat," Eagle said. "What happened?"

Cat let out a breath as she sat down at the Ninja Table.

"A reporter woman by the name of Rita Skeeter will cause trouble in the future," she grumbled.

"What's she like?" Fox asked.

"You'll probably see her soon enough. When she interviews you, she'll probably twist everything you say to suit her tastes," Cat said.

(…)

Dragon and Eagle were coming out of the Forbidden Forest, having just finished their sparring. Dragon's hand was entwined with Eagle's, and he was pulling her along.

"How sweet," gushed a voice. Dragon winced at the fake, sugary tone. She and Eagle looked over to the pumpkin patch, and saw a woman sitting on a large pumpkin, with blonde, curly hair and talon-like nails.

"Would you come over here a minute? I just want a little interview," she said, a false smile planted on her lips, although her eyes looked decidedly hungry. Unwillingly, Eagle and Dragon went over to her. "My name is Rita Skeeter."

_This is the baka woman Cat was complaining about,_ Eagle thought. _Better watch it around her._

Eagle and Dragon sat silently on a pumpkin, waiting for her to speak.

"Now," said Rita Skeeter, a long green quill, which she sucked on (to the guards' amusement/disgust) and placed it on top of the parchment which she had whipped out.

"You are the guards of Hogwarts, correct?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Yes," Dragon said, leaning back. She didn't like this woman.

"And you're in a relationship?"

"Huh?" Dragon and Eagle said.

"_She's very direct,"_ Eagle muttered to his bun-headed (girl)friend.

"Uh, yeah," Dragon said, answering Rita Skeeter's question. They couldn't help noticing that the quill was sprinting excitedly across the parchment.

"And why did you take up this mission?" Rita Skeeter asked.

"Because our leader assigned it to us," Eagle said. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to the castle. We have a meeting."

With that little lie, Eagle tugged Dragon's hand and they body-flickered by up to the school.

"She's weird… and scary," Dragon said.

(…)

Harry met Raccoon and Eagle outside the Great Hall at six that night, as promised, for his and Malfoy's detention. A few minutes later, the Slytherin boy came into view. He looked strangely pathetic without his usual two baboons.

"Follow me," Eagle said. He led them to an empty classroom, and they entered. Harry's eyes widened when he saw a table covered in weapons. Strange weapons. There were knives, throwing stars, maces, spiked bats, everything. He mouthed wordlessly at them, and then turned to look at the guards.

"You're sharpening all of them," Raccoon said tonelessly. Malfoy turned to him, horror-stricken.

"_All_ of them?" he repeated. Eagle nodded.

"But what if we cut ourselves?" Malfoy asked. Raccoon shrugged.

"Your problem," he said. "Sharpening tools are there." He pointed to a corner. Harry went resignedly over to the corner, picked up a piece of stone, a weapon, and sat down.

"Are all of these Dragon's weapons?" Raccoon asked in an undertone. Eagle smirked.

"Most of them," he replied. "But she kept the really good ones. She said she didn't trust other people with them." Raccoon chuckled slightly.

Harry and Malfoy worked silently for four whole hours. Harry found out that, unsurprisingly, sharpening weapons took a lot of time. The detention was finished by ten o'clock, although his hands were sore and they had little cuts on them where he had accidently stabbed himself. Malfoy was no better. Both their hands were red and bleeding. None of them came even close to finishing the table of weapons.

Surprisingly, the Slytherin boy had not uttered a word for the whole of the detention. Perhaps he didn't have the guts to in the guards' presence.

"Should teach you two to duel outside of class hours," Raccoon said. The two nodded glumly.

"You should be thankful that it was us who dealt out the punishment this time," Eagle said, his voice slightly amused. "If you were with Raven, your life won't be worth living."

"You can go now," Eagle added. The two guards watched the boys walk out of sight before going to the Shinobi Quarters.

(…)

Naruto awoke with a start the next morning, his heart thumping, sweat covering his brow. He swung out of bed, careful not to wake the other sleeping inhabitants of his dorm.

It was still early; three o'clock in the morning, but Naruto had no desire to go back to sleep.

He wandered down to the Ninja Common Room, and spotted Hinata standing by the window, apparently deep in thought. He wanted to talk to someone.

But he was still shaky from the dream, and wanted someone to listen to him.

"Hinata?"

Hinata jumped and turned around quickly, spotting her captain standing behind her.

"Oh," she said, "good morning, Naruto-kun." She noticed that the blonde had dark shadows under his eyes, and his skin was pale.

"What's wrong?" she asked in concern, reaching out a hand to feel his forehead. "Naruto-kun, you're burning up!" Naruto looked at her tiredly, before saying, "I had a nightmare."

This stopped Hinata from rushing into the kitchen and grabbing the medicine bag.

"Oh," she said. She sometimes had bad dreams, and she knew that it helped if you talked about it. "Do you want me to listen?"

Naruto gazed at her steadily, and with an exhausted sigh, nodded. He sat down on the couch, and Hinata sat next to him. Naruto buried his face into his hands, and spoke, though his voice was a little muffled.

"I-I dreamt that Pervy Sage was there, and he was smiling at me and teaching me a new move," Naruto said. His voice was carefully blank. No emotion in it whatsoever. "But then, he disappeared, to be replaced by Pain, who said that it was my fault that Pervy Sage died. And I know it wasn't, but still, it really hurt.

"And then I dreamt that Kakashi-sensei was lying on the ground, covered in all this blood. And then he was replaced by Yamato-taicho, then Sakura-chan, then Sasuke-teme, then you… and… it kept changing… everyone was dead. Everyone was dead, and it felt like my fault."

Naruto still had his face pressed into his hands, and Hinata looked at him, trying to figure out what to say.

"Naruto-kun," she said, "what you dreamt is what you fear. But you don't need to worry about us. We won't die that easily, and we can take care of ourselves. Have faith in us, Naruto-kun."

"I know that," Naruto said. He lifted his face to reveal anxious eyes. "I know you can take care of yourselves, but I still get scared that I'll lose everyone."

"We all fear that," Hinata said. "But there is no use getting caught up about what _might_ happen. Just believe in us, Naruto-kun."

She wrapped pale arms around Naruto and rested her cheek on his shoulder. Naruto tensed up, but then relaxed, returning her hug.

"Thanks, Hina-chan," he mumbled.

Shikamaru yawned as he came down the stairs. He opened on eye blearily, and then caught sight of Naruto and Hinata on the couch, hugging each other. Startled, Shikamaru slowly started to back up the stairs, not wanting to interrupt them, before Kiba crashed into him, causing them both to shout out and tumble down the staircase. Akamaru pounced to his feet and growled at Shikamaru.

"Ow," Kiba mumbled at the bottom of the stairs. He caught sight of Shikamaru. "What the hell, pineapple-brain?"

Shikamaru glanced guiltily at Naruto and Hinata, both of whom at sprang apart with they realised they had company.

"Troublesome," he sighed.

"Aww, Hinata and Naruto, you guys make such a cute couple!" squealed Ino as she came down the stairs. It seemed as though Kiba and Shikamaru had woken everyone up.

"What's with the racket?" a cold voice asked. They all turned and saw Neji standing at the top of the stairs.

"Kiba and Shikamaru fell down the stairs," Ino said. Neji rolled his pearly eyes.

"Obviously," he said.

"If you knew that, then why did you ask?" Kiba said, annoyed as he tried to get Shikamaru off his leg. "Get the hell off, Shikamaru!"

"Geez, wake up everyone else, why don't you?" Tenten sighed, appearing beside Neji.

"Sasuke is guarding Potter-san, right?" Sakura asked, going out of the girls' dorm. Naruto nodded from the couch.

"You guys woke me up… do you have _any_ idea how long it took me to fall asleep last night?" Gaara said, annoyed as he came down the stairs.

Ino went down to Kiba and pulled him up.

"Idiot," she said. "Now everyone's awake because of you."

"Hey," Kiba protested. "Pineapple-brain did that too." Ino rolled her eyes and pecked his cheek, causing everyone else to raise their eyebrows.

"Since when have you too been on such close terms?" Neji asked.

"We kept it a secret," Kiba said, grinning toothily. He put his arm around Ino's waist, signifying their relationship.

"I don't mind you guys going out, but just keep the mushy stuff for private, okay?" Shikamaru groaned, rubbing his arm where he had landed on it.

"As long as you do the same with Temari," Gaara said dryly. "I don't want to see you kissing my sister everywhere I go." His tone was flat, but everyone could hear the hint of amusement in it. Shikamaru went red, but grinned.

"Whatever you say, future brother-in-law," Shikamaru replied. Gaara glared at him.

(…)

Life became even worse for Harry within the confines of the castle, for Rita Skeeter had published her piece about the Triwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the Tournament, as a highly coloured life story of Harry. Much of the front page had been given over to a picture of Harry; the article had been all about Harry, the names of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all.

Harry still got a sick, burning sense of shame in his stomach every time he thought about it. Rita Skeeter had reported him saying an awful lot of things that he couldn't remember ever saying in his life, let alone in that broom cupboard.

'_I suppose I get my strength from my parents, I knew they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now… yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it… I know nothing will hurt me during the Tournament, because they're watching over me…'_

_Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of once Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school._

He wanted to vomit.

The moment the article appeared, Harry had to endure people – Slytherins, mainly – quoting it at him as he passed them, and making sneering comments.

To his complete and utter surprise, however, he found out that Rita Skeeter had also managed to write an article on the guards. It appeared on the front page also, along with Harry's article, and unfortunately now, Rita Skeeter's article had turned the ninja into something of a joke.

_Dumbledore had taken the liberty of hiring ninja this year at Hogwarts as guards and is apparently happy with this decision, but the question is, are the guards happy?_

_After an emotional interview with Cat, one of the Hogwarts guards, she confessed that she too, has no parents, and took on this mission because she 'understands what Harry Potter is going through' and believes that it is her duty to guide him through this 'dark and dangerous waters'._

'_Harry Potter is a growing boy in the need of parental love, but that has been denied of him. Therefore, I believe that I should act as the caring older sister he never ha__d, and help him through this troublesome year.'_

_When asked what Cat thought of Harry submitting his name into the Goblet, she replied, 'I think he is very brave for doing that. I think he wants to prove that just because he has no one to support him, it does not mean he is limited in any way.'_

_Eagle and Dragon, another two of Hogwarts guards, are reportedly furious with their leader for appointing them with this mission, because, startling though it may seem, the two are in a deep relationship, and say that 'Harry Potter is getting in the way'. _

'_Instead of spending quality time with each other, we're forced to babysit Potter because he cannot take care of himself!" a furious Dragon says. _

_A concern of ours is the mental state of some of the ninja. The students are claiming that the guards issue frequent death threats to them, and they 'terrify the wits' out of them.__ Raven, an especially sadistic person, reportedly says about twenty death threats a day, including threats that he will torture, kill and/or maim the students of Hogwarts. _

'_He once said that if I don't shut my mouth, he'll pull all my teeth out and hang me upside down by the ceiling,' Draco Malfoy, a fourth year Hogwarts student __claims. _

_Apparently the guards, ruled by the blood and murder in their __world, have ceased to have any emotions. Stag admits himself that he does not feel anything when watching torture, and at times, he even enjoys it._

_Dumbledore's __ten hired guards all have wide and remarkably different personalities. Will this unstable unit of ninja really protect Harry Potter, or will everything fall apart? _

Cat almost choked on her orange juice as she read the article. Her pearly eyes widened as she stared at the article. The other shinobi, who had just finished reading it, all stared at each other in shock.

"None of you… said any of this, did you?" Fox asked slowly.

"No!" Cat, Dragon and Eagle exclaimed.

"So this is what Rita Skeeter is like," Slug said in disgust. "You're right, Cat, she _does_ twist everything you say."

When Harry and Hermione arrived at Double Potions, they were both sick and tired of the comments people had been making.

"_Stunningly pretty? Her?_" Pansy Parkinson had shrieked, the first time she had come face to face with Hermione after Rita's article had appeared. "What was she judging against – a chipmunk?"

Harry also felt sorry for the guards, because people had started to badmouth them as much as they did to Harry and Hermione. But they handled it quite well.

"Hey Cat, planning to get adopted in Potter's freak family?" Malfoy had called out when he passed her in the hall.

"Better than getting adopted into yours," Cat replied calmly. Harry and Hermione had burst out laughing.

During dinner in the Great Hall, Harry spotted all the guards sitting at the table, as usual. He took a deep breath and left the Gryffindor table and went over to them.

"Something wrong, Potter-san?" Raccoon asked. The other shinobi looked up over to him.

"I-I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you got dragged into this," Harry said awkwardly. "Now you guys look really bad." Fox grinned at him.

"Me and Raccoon are already used to it," he smiled, slinging an arm around the sand shinobi's shoulder, "so it's okay."

"We're fine, too," Dragon said. The others nodded. Raccoon hit Fox on the head and the blonde withdrew his arm, mumbling curses.

"So, no need to apologise," Dog said. Harry left them, still receiving sneers and snide comments directed at him, but he felt a tiny bit better.

End chapter.

**No matter what ****multi-chapter story, there will always be an Author's Note at the end of a chapter with the author saying that he/she isn't satisfied with the chapter she/he has written. There are no exceptions. Okay, maybe there are, but it's rare to find a story where the author is completely happy with every single chapter he/she has written for his/her story. **

**I'm not satisfied with this chapter.**

**It's so very… bleh ****. I felt like the characters were running away from me, and therefore everyone was OOC. **

**Gomen. **


	11. The Dragons

**Read the Author's ****Notes at the bottom, it's important.**

**Thanks to: ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****soprano-in-waiting****, ****WinxPossible****, ****Furionknight****, ****Lord Claw****, ****SillyChicha14****, ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****Anivla01****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****Spider's Thread****, ****Venus914****, ****The Shadow Moon****, ****Morte Cacciatore**** for reviewing.**

**There were a lot of nice reviews in the last chapter regarding my Author's Note. Thanks guys.**

**Chapter Eleven: ****The Dragons**

(…)

On the Saturday before the first task, all students in the third year and above were permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade. Hermione told Harry that it would do him good to get away from the castle for a bit, and Harry didn't need much persuasion.

"What about Ron, though?" he said. "Don't you want to go with him?

"Oh… well…" Hermione went slightly pink. "I thought we might meet up with him in the Three Broomsticks…"

"No," said Harry flatly.

"Oh, Harry, this is so stupid –"

"I'll come, but I'm not meeting Ron, and I'm wearing my Invisibility Cloak."

"Oh, all right, then…" Hermione snapped, "but I hate talking to you in that Cloak, I never know if I'm looking at you or not."

So Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak in the dormitory, went back downstairs, and together he and Hermione set off for Hogsmeade.

Harry felt wonderfully free under the Cloak; he watched other students walking past them as they entered the village, most of them sporting _Support CEDRIC DOGGORY_ badges, but no horrible remarks came his way for a change, and nobody was quoting that stupid article.

"Uh, Harry," Hermione said as they walked out of Honeydukes Sweetshop later, eating large cream-filled chocolates. "What about the guards?"

"Oh…" Harry said. In truth, he had totally forgotten about them.

"Don't worry, we're here," Stag whispered into Hermione's ear. She resisted the urge to shout.

"Stag," she said, turning around to greet him.

"We're all in the village, so we don't need to tail you for the whole trip," Stag said. "One of us will come and check up on you every once in a while." Stag eyed the place where Harry should have been, then said, "Nice cloak, Potter-san. It's very useful."

"Thanks," Harry grinned. Stag nodded and disappeared.

Harry and Hermione went to various little shops, the finally decided to end their day at the Three Broomsticks.

As Harry sat, invisible, in the corner with Hermione, random thoughts began jolting through his mind, until he was interrupted by the bushy-haired girl.

"It's Hagrid!" said Hermione.

The back of Hagrid's enormous shaggy head – he had mercifully abandoned his bunches – emerged over the crowd. Harry wondered why he hadn't spotted him at once, as Hagrid was so large, but standing up carefully, he saw that Hagrid had been leaning low, talking to Professor Moody. Hagrid had his usual enormous tankard in front of him, but Moody was drinking from his hip-flask. Madam Rosmerta, the pretty landlady, didn't seem to think much of this; she was looking askance at Moody as she collected glasses from tables around them. Perhaps she thought it was an insult to her mulled mead, but Harry knew better. Moody had told them all during their last Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson that he preferred to prepare his own food and drink at all times, as it was so easy for Dark wizards to poison an unattended cup.

As Harry watched, he saw Hagrid wave to Eagle and Dragon, who waved back, and he and Moody got up to leave. He waved too, and then remembered that Hagrid couldn't see him. Moody, however, paused, his magical eye on the corner where Harry was standing. He tapped Hagrid in the small of the back, muttered something to him, and then the pair of them made their way across the pub towards Harry and Hermione's table.

Moody gave Harry a muttered greeting, and Hagrid bent down on the pretext of reading the S.P.E.W. notebook Hermione had out, and said in a whisper so low that only Harry could hear it, "Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that Cloak."

Straightening up, Hagrid said loudly, "Nice ter see yeh, Hermione," winked, and departed. Moody followed him.

"Why does he want to meet me at midnight?" Harry said, very surprised.

"Does he?" said Hermione, looking startled. "I wonder what he's up to. I don't know whether you should go, Harry…" She looked nervously around, and hissed, "It might make you late for Sirius."

Harry's meeting with Sirius was tonight. And it was true that going down to Hagrid's at midnight would mean cutting his meeting with Sirius very fine indeed. Hermione suggested sending Hedwig down to Hagrid's to tell him he couldn't go – always assuming she would consent to take the note, of course – Harry however, thought it better just to be quick at whatever Hagrid wanted him for. He was very curious to know what this might be; Hagrid had never asked Harry to visit him so late at night.

(…)

At half past eleven that evening, Harry, who had pretended to go to bed early, pulled the Invisibility Cloak back over himself and crept back downstairs through the common room.

Harry crept past the Creevey brothers and waited for a minute or so, keeping an eye on his watch. Then Hermione opened the Fat Lady for him outside as they planned. He slipped past her with a whispered "Thanks!" and set off through the castle.

"It's very later, Potter-san, for you to be wandering outside around the castle." A smooth voice cut through the silence, and Harry stopped and cringed. Dog appeared in the shadows, along with Akamaru.

"It's okay," Dog sighed. "You can go to where Hagrid-san is, but Fox sent me here so that I can go with you, I don't know why he allowed it, though…"

The grounds were very dark as Harry, Dog and Akamaru walked down the lawn towards the lights shining in Hagrid's cabin. The inside of the enormous Beauxbatons carriage was also lit up; Harry could hear Madame Maxime talking inside it as he knocked on Hagrid's front door.

"You there, Harry?" Hagrid whispered, opening the door and looking around. "Oh, hullo, Dog." Dog grinned at him.

"Yeah," said Harry, slipping inside the cabin and pulling the cloak down off his head. "What's up?"

"Got summat ter show yeh," said Hagrid, "'course, the guards already know, don't yeh?" Dog nodded.

"Fox and the others are with them," Dog told him.

There was an air of enormous excitement about Hagrid. He was wearing a flower that resembled an oversized artichoke in his buttonhole. It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair – both Harry and Dog could see the comb's broken teeth tangled in it.

"What're you showing me?" Harry asked warily, wondering if the Skrewts had laid eggs, or Hagrid had managed to buy another giant three-headed dog off a stranger in a pub.

"Come with me, keep quiet an' keep yerself covered with that Cloak," said Hagrid. "We won' take Fang, he won' like it…"

"It's actually really quite cool," Dog reassured Harry. "Right, Akamaru?" Akamaru wagged his tail. Fang and Akamaru had become great friends, although Akamaru had informed Dog that Fang was a big wuss sometimes.

Hagrid, to Harry's bewilderment and Dog's impatience, took Madame Maxime and then took her down to the edge of the paddock containing Madame Maxime's giant winged horses. Dog took cover in the trees and left Harry, darting ahead with Akamaru.

When they had walked so far around the perimeter of the Forest that the castle and the lake were out of sight – Harry heard something. Men were shouting up ahead… and then came a deafening, ear-splitting roar…

Hagrid led Madame Maxime around a clump of trees, and came to a halt. Harry hurried alongside them – for a split second, he thought he was seeing bonfire, and men darting around them – and then his mouth fell open.

_Dragons._

Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing on their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting – torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouth, thirty metres above the ground on their outstretched necks.

There was a silvery blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground; a smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might; a red one with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air, and a gigantic black one, more lizard-like than the others, which was nearest to them.

At least thirty wizards, seven or eight to each dragon, were attempting to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy leather straps around their necks and legs. To Harry's surprise, he also saw the shinobi there, and they were fighting fire with fire. Both literally and metaphorically.

"_Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!"_ Harry heard Raven shout just as a jet of flame burst from the black dragon's mouth. Raven made fire, strangely, in the shape of a dragon, and it came out and met the black dragon's flames in mid-air.

"_Sabaku Kyu."_ Harry was pretty sure this was Raccoon's doing, because sand suddenly covered the blue dragon, immobilizing it and letting the wizards shoot a Stunning Spell at it, causing the blue dragon to slump down. The sand slithered away, and the wizards hurried forward to tighten the chains and iron pegs. Raccoon did the same thing to the red dragon.

"_Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu."_ This time, a long shadow in the shape of a hand crept up the green dragon's throat, forcing it down to the ground. Seeing the dragon distracted, the wizards once again shot Stunning Spells to it.

"Now for the black dragon," Harry heard Fox said. "Geez, Raven. I thought you could do better!"

"Shut the hell up, _dobe_," Raven snarled. The guards didn't do anything this time, the wizards Stunned the dragon and it crashed to the ground.

"Heh, nice job," Dog chuckled, walking over to his comrades.

"They're really cute," Dragon said, staring down at the great lizards. Eagle threw her a disbelieving look.

"What breeds?" Dog asked.

"The Hungarian Horntail is that black one. The Common Welsh Green, the smaller one – a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue grey – and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red," Raccoon said.

"One for each champion," Slug said. "I really hope they survive this."

Harry had had enough. Trusting to the fact that Hagrid wouldn't miss him, with the attractions of the four dragons and Madame Maxime to occupy him, he turned silently, and began to walk away, back to the castle, not waiting to see if any of the ninja would follow.

He didn't know whether he was glad he'd seen what was coming or not. Perhaps this way was better. This first shock was over now. Maybe if he's seen the dragons for the first time on Tuesday, he would have passed out cold in front of the whole school… but maybe he would anyway… he was going to be armed with his wand – which just now, felt nothing more than a narrow strip of wood – against a scaly, spike-ridden, fire-breathing dragon. And he had to get past it, with the whole school watching. _How?_

Harry sped up, skirting the edge of the Forest; he had just under fifteen minutes to get back to the fireside and talk to Sirius, and he couldn't remember, ever, wanting to talk to someone more than he did right now – when, without warning, he ran into something solid.

Harry fell backwards, his glasses askew, clutching the Cloak around him. A voice nearby said, "Ouch! Who's there?"

Harry hastily checked that the Cloak was covering him and lay very still, staring up at the dark outline of the wizard he had hit. He recognised the goatee… it was Karkaroff.

"Who's there?" said Karkaroff again, very suspiciously, looking around in the darkness. Harry remained still and silent. After a minute or so, Karkaroff seemed to decide he had hit some sort of animal; he was looking around at waist height, as thought expecting to see a dog. Then he crept back under the cover of the trees, and started to edge forwards towards the place where the dragons were.

"Sneaking bastard," muttered a voice. Harry almost had a heart attack, and then he realised that it was Fox, glaring darkly at the place where Karkaroff had disappeared off to.

"Fox," Harry said, scrambling up and staring after Karkaroff. He had no doubt whatsoever what Karkaroff was up to. He had sneaked off his ship to try and find out what the first task was going to be. He might even have spotted Hagrid and Madame Maxime heading off around the Forest together – they were hardly difficult to spot at a distance… and now all Karkaroff had to do was follow the sound of voices, and he, like Madame Maxime, would know what was in store for the champions. By the looks of it, the only champion who would be facing the unknown on Tuesday was Cedric.

Harry and Fox reached the castle, slipped in through the front doors and began to climb the marble stairs; he was very out of breath, but he didn't dare slow down… he had less than five minutes to get up to the fire…

"Balderdash," Fox said coolly to the Fat Lady, who was snoozing in her frame in front of the portrait hole.

"If you say so," she muttered sleepily without opening her eyes, and the picture swung forwards to admit him and Fox. They both climbed inside. The common room was deserted.

Harry pulled of the Invisibility Cloak and threw himself into an armchair in front of the fire. Harry looked at the flames, and jumped.

Sirius' head was sitting in the fire. If Harry hadn't seen Mr Diggory do exactly this back in the Weasleys' kitchen, it would have scared him out of his wits. Instead, his face breaking into the first smile he had worn for days, he scrambled out of his chair, crouched down by the hearth and said, "Sirius – how're you doing?"

Sirius looked different from Harry's memory of him. When they had said goodbye, Sirius' face had been gaunt and sunken, surrounded by a quantity of long, black, matted hair – but the hair was short and clean now, Sirius' face was fuller, and he looked younger, much more like the photograph Harry had of him, which had been taken at the Potters' wedding.

"Ah, so this is Sirius Black," said Fox behind Harry. Sirius' head turned and looked over at Fox. "Good evening, Black-san." Sirius face smiled in amusement.

"Is this one of the guards you've been telling me about?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"Fox," the ninja said.

"Nice to meet you, Fox," Sirius said. Fox nodded at him. Sirius turned back to Harry.

"Anyway, never mind me, how are you?" said Sirius seriously.

"I'm –" For a second, Harry tried to say "fine" – but he couldn't do it. Before he could stop himself, he was talking more than he'd talked in days – about how no one believed he hadn't entered the Tournament of his own free will, how Rita Skeeter had lied about him in the _Daily Prophet_, how he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at – and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron's jealousy…

"… and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and its dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner," he finished desperately.

Sirius looked at him, eyes full of concern, eyes which had not yet lost the look that Azkaban had given him – that deadened, haunted look. He had let Harry talk himself into silence without interruption, but now he said, "Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute – I haven't got long here… I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back any time. There are things I need to warn you about."

"What?" said Harry, feeling his spirits slip a further few notches… surely there could be nothing worse than dragons coming?

"Karkaroff," said Sirius. "Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?"

"Yes – he – what?"

"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror and the ninja guards at Hogwarts this year – to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place."

"Karkaroff got released?" Harry said slowly – his brain seemed to be struggling to absorb yet another piece of shocking information. "Why did they release him?"

"Karkaroff betrayed his comrades and sent them to Azkaban as well," Fox spoke up. Sirius nodded.

"What Fox said. And he also said he's seen the error of his ways. He's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his, so watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well."

"Okay," said Harry slowly. "But… are you saying that Karkaroff put my name in the Goblet? Because if he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me competing."

"We know he's a good actor," said Sirius, "because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free didn't he?"

"Karkaroff really _was_ angry," Fox said. "Eagle said his energy levels were bouncing around crazily. He was _furious._"

"Right," Sirius said, "but keep an eye on him anyway. Now, I've been keeping an eye on the _Daily Prophet_, Harry –"

"You and the rest of the world," said Harry bitterly.

"- and reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman's article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm," Sirius said hastily, seeing Harry about to speak, "but I don't think so, somehow. I think someone knew that their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it too closely, Mad-Eye's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean he can't still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had."

"So… what are you saying?" said Harry slowly. "Karkaroff's trying to kill me? But – why?"

Sirius hesitated.

"I've been hearing some very strange things," he said slowly. "The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark… and then – did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who's gone missing?"

"Bertha Jorkins?" said Harry.

"Exactly… she disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was rumoured to be last… and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?"

"Yeah, but… it's not very likely she'd have walked straight into Voldemort, is it?" said Harry.

"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins," said Sirius grimly. "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination, Harry. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap."

"So… so Voldemort could have found out about the Tournament?" said Harry. "Is that what you mean? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?"

"I don't know," said Sirius slowly. "I just don't know… Fox says that it's unlikely to be Karkaroff, and he doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that Goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the Tournament would be a very good way to attack you, and make it look like an accident."

"Looks like a really good plan from where I'm standing," said Harry bleakly. "They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff."

"Right – these dragons," said Sirius, speaking very quickly now. "There's a way, Harry. Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell – dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner. You need about half-a-dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon –"

"Yeah, I know, I just saw," said Harry.

"But you can do it alone," said Sirius. "There is a way, and a simple spell's all you need. Just –"

But Fox had nudged Harry's shoulder urgently, signalling that someone was coming. He could hear footsteps coming down the spiral staircase.

"Go!" Harry hissed at Sirius. "_Go!_ There's someone coming!"

Harry scrambled to his feet, hiding the fire – if someone saw Sirius' face within the walls of Hogwarts, they would raise an almighty uproar – the Ministry would get dragged in – he, Harry, would be questioned about Sirius' whereabouts.

Harry heard a tiny _pop_ in the fire behind him, and knew Sirius had gone – he watched the bottom of the spiral staircase – who had decided to go for a stroll at one o'clock in the morning, and stopped Sirius from telling him how to get past a dragon?

It was Ron. Dressed in his marron paisley pyjamas, Ron stopped dead facing Harry across the room, and looked around.

"Who were you talking to?" he said.

"Fox," Harry said, gesturing to the still figure sitting on an armchair who turned around when his name was mentioned.

"I-" Ron broke off, shrugging. "Nothing. I'm going back to bed."

"Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry said, his voice climbing angrily. He knew that Ron had no idea what he'd walked in on, he knew he hadn't done it on purpose, but he didn't care – at this moment he hated everything about Ron, right down to the several centimetres of bare ankle showing beneath his pyjama trousers.

"Sorry about that," said Ron, his face reddening with anger. "Should've realised you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practising for your next interview in peace."

Harry seized on of the _POTTER REALLY STINKS _badges off the table that the Creevey brothers had tried and failed to change, and chucked it, as hard as he could, across the room. Fox could have stopped it, but he let the two boys fight. The badge hit Ron on the forehead and bounced off.

"There you go," Harry said, "something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky… that's what you want, isn't it?"

He strode across the room towards the stairs; he half expected Ron to stop him, he would even have liked Ron to throw a punch at him, but Ron just stood there in his too small pyjamas, and Harry, having stormed upstairs, lay awake in bed, fuming for a long time afterwards, leaving Ron and Fox in the common room.

(…)

"So… what happened last night?" Sasuke asked on Sunday morning. Naruto stretched sleepily in the armchair and yawned.

"Black-san warned Potter-san about a few things, but we already know all of them," Naruto said, running a hand through his yellow blonde hair. "And Black-san was going to tell Potter-san how to defeat the dragon, but then Weasley-san came down the stairs and the two got into another fight."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow when Naruto disappeared with a _poof,_ signalling that it was a Shadow Clone. The real Fox/Naruto must still be in the Gryffindor common room.

Raccoon, who tailed Harry that day, said that the boy did nothing except go to the library with Hermione and attempt to look up ways on how to defeat a dragon.

On Monday morning, Harry awoke, and seriously considered, for the first time ever, just running away from Hogwarts. But as he looked around the Great Hall at breakfast time, and thought about what leaving the castle would mean, he knew he couldn't do it. It was the only place he had ever been happy… well, he supposed he must have been happy with his parents too, but he couldn't remember that.

Somehow, the knowledge that he would rather be here and facing a dragon than back in Privet Drive with Dudley was good to know; it made him feel slightly calmer. He finished his bacon with difficulty (his throat wasn't working too well) and, as he and Hermione got up, he saw Cedric Diggory leaving the Hufflepuff table.

Cedric still didn't know about the dragons… the only champion who didn't, if Harry was right in thinking that Maxime and Karkaroff would have told Fleur and Krum…

"Hermione, I'll see you in the greenhouses," Harry said, coming to his decision as he watched Cedric leaving the Hall. "Go on, I'll catch up with you."

"Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring –"

"I'll catch up with you, okay?"

By the time Harry reached the bottom of the marble staircase, Cedric was at the top. He was with a load of sixth year friends. Harry didn't want to talk to Cedric in front of them; they were among those who had been quoting the Rita Skeeter's article at him every time he went near them. He followed Cedric at a distance, and saw that he was heading towards the Charms corridor. This gave Harry an idea. Pausing at a distance from them, he pulled out his wand, and took careful aim.

"_Diffindo!"_

Cedric's bag split. Parchment, quills and books spilled out of it onto the floor. Several bottles of ink smashed.

Slug looked on in amusement as Cedric told his friends to go on and tell his teacher that he was going to be late. She watched as her charge hurried over to him.

"Hi," said Cedric, picking up a copy of _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration _that was now splattered with ink. "My bag just split… brand new and all…"

"Cedric," said Harry, "the first task is dragons."

"What?" said Cedric, looking up.

"Dragons," said Harry, speaking quickly, in case Professor Flitwick came out to see where Cedric had got to. "They've got four, one for each of us, and we've got to get past them."

Cedric stared at him. Harry saw some of the panic he'd been feeling since Saturday night flickering in Cedric's grey eyes.

"Are you sure?" Cedric said, in a hushed voice.

"Dead sure," said Harry. "I've seen them."

"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know…"

"Never mind," said Harry quickly – he knew Hagrid would be in trouble if he told the truth. "But I'm not the only one who knows. Fleur and Krum will know by now – Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons, too."

Cedric straightened up, his arms full of inky quills, parchment and books, his ripped bag dangling off one shoulder. He stared at Harry, and there was a puzzled, almost suspicious look in his eyes.

"Why are you telling me?" he asked.

"Diggory-san, it's called being fair," Slug said, finally deciding to reveal herself. "I know the champions aren't supposed to know about the tasks, but apparently cheating is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, so I'll just pretend this scene never happened."

Cedric jumped when he saw the pink haired guard.

"You were listening?" Cedric said. Slug shrugged.

"We're always listening," she told him. "Now get to class, your teacher will be wondering where you've gone."

Cedric cast one last look at Harry before going off to Charms. Harry was left with Slug, who was glaring at him. Then, they both heard a familiar clunking noise behind them. They turned around, and saw Mad-Eye Moody emerging from a nearby classroom.

"Come with me," he growled. Harry stared apprehensively at Moody.

"Er – professor, I'm supposed to be in Herbology -"

"Never mind that, Potter. In my office, please…"

Harry followed him, with Slug lurking just behind him. What if Moody wanted to know how he'd found out about the dragons? Would Moody go to Dumbledore and tell on Hagrid, or just turn Harry into a ferret? Well, it might be easier to get past a dragon, Harry thought dully, he'd be much smaller, much less easy to see from a height of fifty metres (A/N I made up that measurement also)…

He and Slug followed Moody into his office. Moody closed the door behind them and turned to look at Harry, his magical eye fixed upon him as well as the normal one.

As Moody and Harry talked, Slug took the chance to quietly observe Moody's office.

It was filled with a number of exceptionally odd objects that Slug supposed Moody had used in the days when he had been an Auror.

On his desk stood what looked like a large, cracked, glass spinning top. In the corner on a small table stood an object that looked something like an extra-squiggly, golden television aerial. It was humming slightly. What appeared to be a mirror hung opposite Slug on the wall, but it was not reflecting the room. Shadowy figures were moving around inside it, none of the clearly in focus.

Slug noticed a chest under a window that had seven keyholes in a row. Although she didn't have Cat's or Eagle's Byakugan, she could sense a large amount of energy surrounding it. She didn't like it. Slug wondered if she could get permission to inspect the teachers' offices.

Slug listened on stonily as Moody tried to help Harry and get past the first task. It wasn't in her place to interrupt them, even if she disapproved, and so she stayed silent.

The energy from the chest was really bothering her; it was like an irritating fly that wouldn't leave her alone. She really had to get Cat or Eagle to see this. She noticed that Moody was surrounded in the same energy emitting from the chest, although it was slightly less dense. Her instincts were telling her that this wasn't normal, even in the wizarding world. She frowned silently.

She followed Harry to greenhouse three ten minutes later, and listened as he told Hermione that he needed her help to practice the Summoning Charm.

She saw Raccoon climb into the Gryffindor common room later that night.

"Hi, Raccoon," Slug said, grateful for someone to talk to. Harry and Hermione were busy practising the Summoning Charm, and so were ignoring her.

"Slug," Raccoon said. He nodded to the wizard and witch, "what are they doing?"

"They trying to learn how to do the Summoning Charm in time for tomorrow," Slug said. "Moody-san helped Potter-san with planning to get past the dragon."

"Is he allowed?" Raccoon asked. Slug shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care," she said, "It doesn't really jeopardize the mission, so I let it go." Raccoon sat down on the armchair beside her, and for a second, his hand brushed past hers gently. She shivered, then mentally slapped herself.

_Focus on the mission, not Gaara,_ she scolded herself.

At two o'clock in the morning, the guards were still awake, and so were Harry and Hermione. The boy stood near the fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects – books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones and Neville's toad, Trevor. Only in the last hour had Harry really got the hang of the Summoning Charm.

"That's better, Harry, that's loads better," Hermione said, looking exhausted, but very pleased.

Harry tried the spell again, and the heavy book that was in Hermione's hand flew across the room and Harry caught it.

"Harry, I really think you've got it!" said Hermione delightedly.

"Just as long as it works tomorrow," Harry said. "The Firebolt's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there in the grounds…"

"That doesn't matter," said Hermione firmly. "Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. Harry, we'd better get some sleep… you're going to need it."

As Harry went up to the dorms, he heard Raccoon and Slug, who were still sitting in front of the fire, murmur a quiet, "Good job" as he passed. He grinned tiredly at them and went up to bed.

End chapter.

**Yeah, this chapter is really similar to the one in the book.**

**Okay guys, I have an announcement to make. I have learned my first life lesson.**

**Life Lesson No. 1: I suck at writing romance**

**See, I have written about eight chapters ahead, and it's really hard to write moments where it's clear the ANBU love each other but can't exactly show their affection coz they're on a mission. Seriously, would you guys rather read a crappy romance fic or an in-character one?**

**WAIT! Before you guys hit the review button and start screaming at me, let me atone for my mistake. Let's see… I **_**will**_** keep the couples, but there will be no fluff scenes. It will be clear that they are together, but that won't be the main focus and that certainly won't distract the ANBU from their real mission. **

**Again, I'm really sorry for getting your hopes up**** for romantic-ness, coz I know that some people were very happy that there would be romance in this fic. **

**Don't kill me… **


	12. Task Number One

**Thanks ****to: ****Furionknight****, ****tenshi-no-akuma-81****, ****WinxPossible****, ichigos-lover-1996, OCD, ****RadientWings****, ****Spider's Thread****, Mosstar, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****Morte Cacciatore****, ****Ochibi and Urufu****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover**** for reviewing.**

**Also, thanks for not screaming at me. I'm glad that the majority of you accepted my decision of not writing fluff and whatnot. **

**Chapter Twelve: Task Number One**

(…)

Harry had been focusing so hard on learning Summoning Charms that evening that some of his blind panic had left him. It returned full measure, however, on the following morning. The atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure – though of course, they didn't yet know what they would find there.

Harry felt oddly separate from everyone around him, whether they were wishing him luck or hissing at him. It was a state of nervousness so advanced that he wondered whether he mightn't just lose his head when they tried to lead him out to his dragon, and start cursing everyone in sight.

Time was behaving in a more peculiar fashion than ever, rushing past in great dollops, so that one moment he seemed to be sitting down in his first lesson, History of Magic, with Swan, and the next, walking into lunch… and then Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to him in the Great Hall. Lots of people were watching.

"Potter, the champions have to come down into the grounds now… you have to get ready for your first task."

"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.

Fox, who was sitting at the Ninja Table, instructed Raven to follow Harry down to the grounds. Fox made about ten Shadow Clones and stationed them around the school, so that the rest of his crew could go down as well without leaving the castle unguarded.

Harry left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall. She didn't seem herself; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione that morning. As she walked him down the stone steps, Raven appeared silently behind them. Professor McGonagall put her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Now, don't panic," he said, "just keep a cool head… we've got wizards and the ninja on hand to control the situation if it gets out of hand… the main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you… are you all right?"

"Yes," Harry heard himself say. "Yes, I'm fine."

She was leading him towards the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the Forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, Harry saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in there with the other champions," said Professor McGonagall in a rather shaky voice, "and wait for your turn, Potter. Mr Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you the – the procedure… good luck."

"Thanks," said Harry, in a flat and distinct voice. She left him at the entrance of the tent. Harry entered.

Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked even surlier than usual, which Harry supposed was his way of showing nerves. Cedric was pacing up and down. When Harry entered, he gave him a small smile, which Harry retuned, feeling the muscles in his face working rather hard, as though they had forgotten how to do it.

"Harry! Good-oh," said Bagman happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He kept on smiling, bouncing around.

Raven slipped silently into the tent and went to stand in a corner, his posture erect, viewing the whole tent with hard eyes. He noticed a rustling purple silk bag in the corner, but did not pay attention to it.

"Well, now we're all here – time to full you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" – he held up a small sack of purple silk, and shook it at them – "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different – er – varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else to… ah, yes… your task is to _collect the golden egg_!"

Harry glanced around. Cedric had nodded once, to show that he understood Bagman's words, and then started pacing around the tent again; he looked slightly green. Fleur Delacour and Krum hadn't reacted at all. Perhaps they thought they might be sick if they opened their mouths; that was certainly how Harry felt. But they, at least, had volunteered for this…

In no time at all, Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack and held it out to Fleur Delacour.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to her.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag, and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon – a Welsh Green. It had the number 'two' around its neck. And Harry knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that he had been right: Madame Maxime had told her what was coming.

The same held true for Krum. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number 'three' around its neck. He didn't even blink, just stared at the ground.

Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-grey Swedish Short-Snout, the number 'one' tied around its neck. Knowing what was left, Harry put his hand into the silk bag, and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number 'four'. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon which you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now… Harry… could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er… yes," said Harry blankly, and he got up and went out of the tent with Bagman, who walked him a short way away, into the trees, and turned to him with a fatherly expression.

Raven had followed them as well, his eyes narrowing.

"Feeling alright, Harry? Anything I can get you?" Bagman asked.

"What?" said Harry, "I – no, nothing."

"Got a plan?" said Bagman, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean," Bagman continued, lowering his voice still further, "you're the underdog here, Harry… anything I can do to help…"

Raven frowned, hidden behind a tree. Why was Bagman offering him help?

"No," said Harry, so quickly he knew he had sounded rude, "no – I – I've decided what I'm going to do, thanks."

"Nobody would _know_, Harry," said Bagman, winking at him.

"No, I'm fine," said Harry, wondering why he kept telling people this, and wondering whether he had ever been less fine. "I've got a plan worked out, I –"

A whistle had blown somewhere.

"Good Lord, I've got to run!" said Bagman in alarm, and he hurried off.

Harry walked back to the tent with Raven still following him, and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. Harry tried to wish him luck as he walked past, but all that came out of his mouth was a sort of hoarse grunt. Harry swore he heard Raven chuckle.

Harry went back inside to Fleur and Krum. Seconds later, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure, and was now face to face with the living counterpart of his model…

It was worse than Harry could ever have imagined, sitting there and listening. The crowd screamed… yelled… gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout. Krum was still staring at the ground. Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's footsteps, round and round the tent. Raven simply looked bored.

Bagman's commentary made everything much, much worse… horrible pictures formed in Harry's mind, as he heard: "Ooh, narrow miss there, very narrow"… "He's taking risks, this one!"… "_Clever_ move – pity it didn't work!"

"Calm yourself, Potter-san," Raven murmured to the frozen boy. Harry gulped and tried to maintain his breathing. "Otherwise you might go into hyperventilation, and I'm not going to help you if you do."

After about fifteen minutes, Harry heard the deafening roar that could only mean one thing: Cedric had got past the dragon and seized the golden egg.

"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled, as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling head to foot; Harry felt more warmly towards her than he had done so far, as she left the tent with her head held high, and her hand clutching her wand. He and Krum were left alone, not counting Raven, at opposite sides of the tent, avoiding each other's gaze.

Again, the same process started again. The nerve-wracking commentary left Harry absolutely scared stiff. Ten minutes later, it seemed as though Fleur had gotten her egg as the audience roared once again.

For the third time, the whistle blew. Krum went out, his face impassive.

Harry barely listened to the commentary, but rather his own body. He was starting to panic, his breath coming in shuddering gasps.

"Potter-san, you're acting as though you're going to your own execution," Raven said, jolting Harry out of his shocked thoughts. "It's only a dragon, and we'll be there to control it if anything happens." Harry stared at the guard. Was Raven… being nice?

Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Krum had finished – it would be Harry's turn at any moment.

He stood up, dimly noticing that his legs seemed to be made of marshmallow. He waited. And then he heard the whistle blow. He walked out through the entrance of the tent, the panic rising to a crescendo inside him. Raven followed Harry as he walked through a gap in the enclosure fence.

The Hungarian Horntail stood at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, leaving long gouge marks in the hard ground.

Harry noticed the ten guards positioned around the enclosure, tense and at the ready if anything happened that would put his life or the crowd's in mortal danger. The dragon didn't pay any attention to the ninja; her focus was on him and on him only.

It was time to do what he had to do… focus his mind, entirely and absolutely, upon the thing that was his only chance…

He raised his wand.

"_Accio Firebolt!"_ he shouted.

He waited, every fibre of him hoping, praying… if it hadn't worked… if it wasn't coming… he seemed to be looking at everything around him through some sort of shimmering, transparent barrier, like a heat haze, which made the enclosure and the hundreds of faces around him swim strangely.

And then he heard it, speeding through the air behind him; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling to him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead mid-air beside him, waiting for him to mount.

Fox smiled a hidden smile as Harry climbed onto his broomstick and took off. He watched as he used diversionary tactics, speeding around the Horntail. He watched as he dived and twisted through the air. Fox thought that it was quite impressive.

He soared higher in a circle; the Horntail still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck, plummeting just as the Horntail opened its mouth. He missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes gazed his shoulder, ripping his robes.

Slug noticed the metallic scent of blood, but then relaxed after seeing his wound. It wasn't very deep.

The dragon's tail sped towards the stands, heading towards the crowd, but before it could connect with anything, Slug had jumped in and chakra-punched the tail away from the spectators. She scanned around to make sure no one was hurt, and then resumed her place. The Horntail gave Slug a glance, and then turned its attention back to Harry, deciding that he was more of the threat.

Harry began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breathe fire, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared.

He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, like a snake before its charmer…

Harry rose a few more metres, and she left out a roar of exasperation. He was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; he tail thrashed again, but he was too high to reach now… she shot fire into the air, which he dodged… her jaws opened wide.

And then she reared up, spreading her great black leathering wings at last, as wide as those of a small aeroplane – and Harry dived. Before the dragon knew what she had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding towards the ground as fast as he could go, towards the eggs now unprotected by her clawed, front legs – he had taken his hands off his Firebolt – he had seized the golden egg –

And with a huge spurt of speed, he was off, he was soaring over the stands, the heavy egg safely under his uninjured arm.

The ninja sped forwards and used jutsu to contain the Horntail, and then left it to the wizards to contain and shackle her. They then turned to Harry, who was flying to the ground, landing in front of Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody and Hagrid.

His heart felt lighter than it had been in weeks… he had got through the first task, he had survived…

"That was excellent, Potter!" cried Professor McGonagall as he got off the Firebolt – which from her was extravagant praise. He noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at his shoulder. "You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score… over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already…"

"Yeh did it, Harry!" said Hagrid hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Charlie said that was the wors' –"

"Thanks, Hagrid!" said Harry loudly, so that Hagrid wouldn't blunder on and reveal that he had shown Harry the dragons beforehand.

Professor Moody looked very pleased, too; his magical eye was dancing in its socket.

"Nice and easy does the trick, Potter," he growled.

The shinobi had assembled behind Harry as well.

"You did well, Potter-san," Fox said quietly. The ninja nodded in agreement as well. Harry grinned.

"Right then, Potter, the first-aid tent, please…" said Professor McGonagall.

Harry walked out of the enclosure with, still panting, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried. Slug went along with him, deciding to let the witch heal Harry.

"Dragons!" she said in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; he could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem too badly injured; he was sitting up, at least. Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder, talking furiously all the while.

"Last year Dementors, this year ninja, and now dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next?"

Harry glanced at Slug to see if she was offended, but she seemed to be quite amused at the witch's ramblings.

"You're quite lucky… this is quite shallow… it'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though…"

Madame Pomfrey cleaned the cut with a dab of some purple liquid which smoked and stung, but then poked his shoulder with her wand, and he felt it heal instantly.

She made Harry sit, but as soon as she had gone, he got to his feet. He went to the mouth of the tent, but before he had reached it, two people came darting inside – Hermione, followed closely by Ron.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"

But Harry was looking at Ron, who was very white, and staring at Harry as though he had seen a ghost. Hermione opened her mouth, but then closed it after Slug put a hand on her shoulder.

"Harry," Ron said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in the Goblet – I – I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

It was as though the last few weeks had never happened – as though Harry was meeting Ron for the first time, right after he'd been made champion.

"Caught on, have you," said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."

Hermione stood nervously between them, Slug's hand still on her shoulder, looking from one to the other. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. Harry knew Ron was about to apologise and, suddenly, he found he didn't need to hear it.

"It's okay," he said, before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it."

"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've –"

"_Forget it_," Harry said.

Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back.

Hermione burst into tears.

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered. Slug chuckled silently.

"You two are so _stupid_!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a huge, and dashed away, positively howling.

"She hasn't shown it to you," Slug said, staring after Hermione, "but these few weeks when you two have been fighting, you have got no idea how frustrated she was."

"Figures," Ron said. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores…"

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, feeling more elated than he would believed possible an hour ago, Harry ducked out of the tent, Ron by his side, explain everything that happened with the other champions.

Slug had gone before them, and now she reached Raccoon, who had been waiting near the tent, interweaving her fingers with his. Harry's lips twitched when he saw that, but then continued listening to Ron.

Ron drew breath as he and Harry reached the edge of the enclosure. Now that the Horntail had been taken away, Harry could see where the five judges were sitting – right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.

"Its marks out of ten from each one," Ron said, and Harry, squinting up the field, saw the first judge – Madame Maxime – raise her wand in the air. What looked like a long, silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight.

"Not bad!" said Ron, as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took marks off for your shoulder…"

Mr Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"Looking good!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back.

Next, Dumbledore. He, too, put up a nine. The crowd were cheering harder than ever.

Ludo Bagman – _ten_.

"Ten?" said Harry in disbelief. "But… I got hurt… what's he playing at?"

"Harry, don't complain!" Ron yelled excitedly.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand, too – four.

"_What_?" Ron bellowed furiously. "_Four_? You lousy biased scumbag, you gave Krum ten!"

But Harry didn't care, he wouldn't have cared if Karkaroff had given him zero; Ron's indignation on his behalf was worth about a hundred points to him. He didn't tell Ron this, of course, but his heart felt lighter than air as he turned to leave the enclosure.

Harry went back to the tent, where he was told Bagman was waiting. The tent looked somehow different; friendly and welcoming. Fleur, Cedric and Krum all came in together.

One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick, orange paste, which was presumably mending his burn. He grinned when Harry saw him. "Good one, Harry."

"And you," said Harry, grinning back.

"Well done, _all_ of you," said Ludo Bagman, looking as pleased as though he had personally gotten past a dragon also. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of January the thirtieth – but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open… se the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg – because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

Harry left the tent with Slug and Raccoon trailing close by, and rejoined Ron, and they started to walk back around the edge of the Forest, talking hard; Harry wanted to hear what the other champions had done in more detail.

As they left the arena, however, there was the sound of breaking chains, Slug shouted out, and Harry turned to see the Hungarian Horntail breaking free and heading straight towards Fox and Raven.

End chapter.

**Hah!**** Finally! I get to do a cliff hanger! A little twist here :D **

**Lord Claw gave me the idea XD **

**Also, because there ****are four tasks, the dates of the tasks will be switched around. I don't think you guys really care but oh well.**

**So, the first task is on November 24****th**

**Second task: February 2****nd**

**Third task: April 24****th**

**Fourth task: June 24****th**

**So… I'll leave you guys at the little cliff hanger here. **

**See you in… six days?**


	13. Who Was It?

**I**** really don't understand people. If I read a story and think its bullshit, I won't review it. I'll just click the 'back' button and go and read another fanfic. But if I think that the story has potential but the author just needs some help with grammar and the plotline, then I'll review and give them some constructive criticism. **

**I got another shitty review, but hey, you know what? I think I'm getting immune to them! I mean, they still make me kinda pissed, but I no longer lose sleep over them because I'm imagining pounding their face to the ground.**

**My ****reviewers: ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****SillyChicha14****, ****Ochibi and Urufu****, ****Furionknight****, ****WinxPossible****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, Spider's Thread, ****Devil-O-Angel****, ****Hyperwolfpup****, ****kitsuneluvuh****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx**

**Now, enough chit chat. I assume you guys want to know what happened to our shinobi, ne? Alright then, before you go off and read, let me warn you: I'm not good at describing fight scenes…**

**Chapter ****Thirteen: Who Was It?**

(…)

_Shit,_ Slug thought.

"Fox! Raven! MOVE!" Slug shrieked.

Fox glanced up just in time to see a horn coming straight towards him. Fox barely had time to form a thought before the tail whammed straight into his body.

The remaining people had started screaming. The teachers were shouting out orders. Everyone was running. It was chaos.

"Potter-san, get the hell out of here!" Slug said, pushing Harry towards the exit. "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"Naruto!" Raccoon shouted out. Oops, he had just used Fox's real name. He just hoped that whoever may have heard it would think that it was some kind of Japanese word. But that was the least of his worries now.

"Who let the Horntail out?" Raven growled. He had jumped clear of the tail. "Fox! Where are you?"

The Horntail was shrieking; her glowing eyes fixed on Raven. She snorted a jet of fire and Sasuke hissed and dodged.

"_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"_

A volley of small fireballs hurtled from Raven's mouth. One of them hit the Horntail in the eye, and she roared in agony, trampling around.

"Fox! Where the hell are you?"

Raven looked around desperately for his friend. He spotted a clump of yellow, and breathed in relief when he saw that it was Fox.

Fox groaned, holding his head. He had flown into the wall of the stadium, hitting his head. His upper right arm had been halfway impaled by the spike on the Horntail's tail.

_What happened?_ He thought blearily. He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra pushing to get free, but with an enormous shove, Fox managed to quell the Nine Tails. He couldn't afford to transform now.

The Horntail was in a cocoon of sand. Raccoon had his arms out, and snarled between his teeth, "Slug, hurry up and punch the damn thing. It's strong." He strengthened the sand holding the dragon, and it struggled, roaring in anger.

Eagle and Dragon and rushed over to where Fox was lying. They gingerly carried him away from the danger. The Horntail breathed fire, aiming it randomly, and though Swan did not get hit directly from the fire, the heat it emitted was still hot enough to burn.

Dog heard her scream of pain, and twisted his head to see Swan on the ground, clutching a leg that was red raw.

There was yet another roar, but it did not come from the Horntail. With a sinking feeling, Dog spotted the Chinese Fireball stomp into view.

_Someone's setting them free,_ he realised. _There's no way two dragons can suddenly get loose._

"Shit," he muttered. "Akamaru!"

The huge white dog barked and bounded over.

"_Gatsuga!"_

The two pounded into the Chinese Fireball, making it stagger.

"Fine then," Dog said under his breath.

"_Jinju Konbi Henge: Sotoro!"_

An enormous, two headed white dog stood where Dog and Akamaru were previously. The two drooling heads barked and snapped. One of them bit onto the Fireball's neck, causing it to screech and shoot fire into the sky.

"Hell yeah!"

The ground shook as Slug punched her chakra-enhanced fist into the Horntail's head, using Raccoon's sand to get her up there.

The Horntail shuddered, shaking her head dazedly.

"Crap," Slug whispered. "Not enough freakin' chakra."

_Where are the other wizards?_ Cat thought desperately. _They should be here._

She activated her Byakugan, and saw, beyond the tremendous and terrifying forms of the two dragons, the limp bodies of the dragon tamers.

_What happened to them?_ Cat thought. _This is not accidental…_

Cat knew that she could do nothing against the dragons except dodge and run. Her Gentle Fist would not work on such thick, scaly hide. She dimly spotted a figure hurrying away from the chaos. She squinted, but then he disappeared from sight. All she could tell was that the figure was a man.

_That person looks familiar,_ Cat thought. _Who is it? And where the hell is he?_

Meanwhile, Raccoon had lifted Slug out of harm's way as she re-pumped her fist with chakra.

"I'm ready," Slug shouted. Raccoon raised his arm, and Slug floated precariously on the sand, though she trusted her partner to keep her from falling.

_This amount of chakra should be enough,_ Slug thought grimly. With a roar, she pounded her fists right into the Horntail's cranium. The Horntail's yellow eyes bulged, before it gave a final, shuddering shriek, and slid to the ground.

Dog and Akamaru still had a tight hold on the Fireball. Raccoon lowered Slug to the ground and turned around to help them. Before he could, however, he was interrupted.

"_Stupefy!"_ shouted several voices. Red spells shot out and hit the Fireball, causing it to slump down onto the ground.

Stag dropped his technique, Dog and Akamaru turned back to normal. Dog checked that Akamaru was alright, and then leapt over to Swan.

"You okay?" he asked. "No, that's a stupid question, of course you're not okay. Come here." Dog picked Swan up, who winced and carried her over to the group.

The teachers, who had been the ones who fired the Stunning spells and who had been ordering students away, were now hurrying towards them; on their faces were looks of absolute shock.

"What happened?" cried Professor McGonagall. "Why were the dragons loose?"

"Wait, Minerva, they need medical attention," Dumbledore said, worry in his eyes. He looked at Fox, then Swan.

"Dumbledore-san," Cat said, "the other Dragon handlers… I think they're unconscious." Dumbledore nodded and ordered some teachers over to where the wizards were supposed to be.

"Come here," Slug said. She was breathing heavily, but she needed to fix her team first. "Swan."

Dog settled Swan on the ground, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

"This looks pretty bad," Slug murmured. "Swan, you idiot. Why didn't you get out of the way in time?"

"Ha, as if you could've done better, Billboard-Brow," Swan said, giving her a slight smirk, but then hissed when Slug prodded her wound.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling over, her face white.

"Here," she said, handing Slug the orange paste that she used on Cedric.

"Thank you," Slug said. She began applying it on Swan's leg. "You should go and check up on the dragon tamers." The nurse witch nodded and hurried off.

"So what happened?" Dumbledore asked. Dragon shrugged.

"I have no idea," Dragon said. "I only heard Slug shout out, I turned around and the Horntail was coming straight for Fox and Raven. It got Fox, and Eagle and I went over to retrieve him when he landed into the wall."

"Raven?" Dumbledore said. Raven shook his head.

"All I saw was the Horntail as well," Raven said. He was staring rigidly at the giant forms of the two Stunned dragons.

"Someone let the Chinese Fireball out," Dog said slowly. "There's no way two dragons could have gotten out of the dragon tamers' control."

"Yeah, plus the tamers were Stunned," Stag said. "Way too suspicious."

"But why," Moody growled, stumping into view. "Who would want to kill you?"

"Whoever put Potter-san's name into the Goblet," Cat said. "They want to kill Potter-san, correct? And we're in their way. They have to get rid of us."

An uneasy silence followed.

Slug finished applying the orange paste to Swan and now moved onto Fox, who was attempting to stem the flow of blood from his head. His arm was bleeding heavily as well. Bits of white bone were showing.

"_Baka,"_ Slug whispered softly. "You're captain, and you couldn't dodge the tail of a stupid dragon?"

"I will be investigating this case," Dumbledore said, serious.

Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff, both of whom had stayed silent, ushered their shell-shocked champions away.

Mr Crouch was frowning, his hands clenched. Bagman wasn't wearing his usual smile, either.

"I apologise for this," Dumbledore said quietly to the ninja.

Raccoon inclined his head and carried Swan and Fox up to the castle on floating sand, the rest of the shinobi following him.

(…)

Harry spotted the ninja entering the castle. The other Hogwarts students were milling around the Entrance Hall. The stragglers were telling everyone who left before the dragons got loose everything that happened, though it was clear that the whole school had heard the dragons' shrieks.

Everyone quieted down when they noticed the shinobi enter the castle. The guards were silent, glaring out from underneath their masks.

The ninja exchanged a few, quiet Japanese words to Swan and Fox, both of whom were lying on floating sand.

"_I can walk,"_ Fox insisted. He tried to get off, but sand pushed him down again.

"_Fox, if you move one more time I'll knock you out,"_ Raccoon threatened softly. His arms were folded tightly over his chest, cold aura emitting from his body. Swan was inspecting her leg, looking at it in a sort of intrigued, yet disgusted kind of way.

Harry stared at the various wounds the ninja had received, recoiling slightly when he saw Fox's injury. Ron looked slightly green and he leaned over and said, "That's disgusting."

Hermione, however, was staring blankly at the ninja with a strange look on her face.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, nudging his friend, "you alright?"

Hermione shook her head, seemingly recovered, and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." With that, she hurried off.

"Is she alright?" Ron asked in concern, staring after her. Harry shrugged. "Where are you going?"

"To the library," Hermione called back. "I think I'm onto something." Ron scoffed.

"If she says she's going to the library than I guess she's alright," he said.

…

A dark figure crept along the corridors, malicious eyes wide, hand gripping wand tightly. The person stopped when the library was near, hearing the sounds of books being flipped and the quiet scratching of quills. The figure glanced inside, and then slipped past it.

"They must be here," the person whispered. "Yes, I'm very sure."

The person had stopped in front of a certain blank wall and stared at it with a little smile curving at the lips.

"Gokage."

The door appeared with the ornate handle, and the figure grasped it, opening the door and walking in.

Kiba looked up as the door opened, and he was immediately suspicious. He grabbed his mask and stuffed it on his face. Dog's mouth dropped open once he saw who it was.

"How did you get in here?" he hissed. He raised his voice slightly. _"Everyone, we've got a problem down here. Put on your masks."_

He turned back to eye the witch standing in front of him, a strange smile on her lips. Eagle was first down; he halted in beside Dog and Akamaru, his eyebrows rising.

"How did Granger-san get in here?"

(…)

"What's going on?" Dragon asked, coming down the stairs, "this better not be some false alarm." She stopped short at the sight of Hermione standing inside the Ninja Common Room, her wand out and pointing it straight at Dog.

"_Stupefy_," Hermione said sharply. She looked completely normal, but her eyes were… strange. They were her normal brown, but something dark lurked behind them. Hermione raised her wand again and cast a Freezing Charm. It whooshed past the shinobi, fading into nothingness behind them.

Hermione continued to shoot spell after spell, her eyes deadly serious, persisting in her relentless attacks. The shinobi dodged again and again, not attacking her, trying to figure her out.

Slowly, Raven recognised what had happened to her.

"She's under the Imperious curse," Raven said. The ninja all knew what the Imperious curse did, and the thought _'How the hell did that happen?'_ ran through their minds.

"We can't hurt her," Slug said sharply. "She's a student. And she's an innocent one at that."

"Then what the heck are we supposed to do?" Dog asked. "Fox and Swan aren't here 'cause of their injuries. That's two less on our side."'

"We won't need the whole ANBU team to take down one little witch," Stag said dryly. Hermione raised her wand again.

"_Avada Kedavra._"

The ninja darted out of the way as a green spell shot at them, though they noticed that the spell was not as green as the one Moody had shown to them.

_FLASHBACK (1)_

"_Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it – you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nose-bleed."_

_END FLASHBACK_

"She's too weak to handle such a curse," Cat whispered. She leapt forward and, before the witch could react, pressed a pressure point on Hermione's neck. Hermione slumped forwards and Cat caught her as she fell.

"We need to get her to Dumbledore-san," Hawk said. "Let's go."

The others nodded and Cat and Dragon left to take Hermione up to Dumbledore's office, leaving the remaining guards to clean up the mess Hermione had made. They walked quickly in case someone saw them, which they didn't really want. With Hermione slung over Cat's shoulder like she was, it looked as though the guards had killed her or something.

Dragon said the password, and the pair of them (with Hermione) stepped onto the revolving staircase, which then came to a stop in front of Dumbledore's office door. They knocked and then entered the office where the headmaster sat among his tinkling silver instruments, wearing deep purple robes. He smiled as the two kunoichi came in, but then it slipped off his face when he saw Hermione.

"What has happened to Miss Granger?" he asked in concern, coming around his desk. Cat deposited the witch gently in a chair.

"She under the Imperious curse," Dragon said blankly. "She came to our quarters and attacked us."

Dumbledore was peering into Hermione's eyes and he withdrew, nodding to himself.

"She is still under the Imperious curse," Dumbledore said finally. "It has not been lifted from her yet."

"Is there any way to turn her back to normal?" Cat asked.

"She can either fight it or the user has to lift it off her," Dumbledore said, sighing heavily. He looked at his student behind his half moon glasses and frowned.

(…)

Moody growled irritably as he realised that his plan to reduce the ninja's numbers had failed. He stumped around in his office, mumbling garbage and throwing dirty looks towards the chest under his window.

Moody muttered some words, knowing that he should lift the Imperious curse off the silly, weak-willed girl before Dumbledore or the other guards became too suspicious of him. He had heard that some of the shinobi could see the energy levels of people, though he didn't know that details.

He lifted the curse, damning the Granger girl to the deepest pits of Hell.

"My apologies, my lord," he whispered to himself. "I have failed you."

He then set about making new plans for the future, and if they worked, the shinobi wouldn't be there at all.

(…)

It was a few days after the first task. Hermione had woken up, and Dumbledore had confirmed, to slight surprise, that the Imperious curse had been lifted. Hermione had seen the quarters of the shinobi, knew where it was and knew the password. She had been sworn to secrecy by Dumbledore and the guards, though. Harry and Ron had been informed by Cat what had happened that night, though they were also commanded to keep their lips sealed.

Fox's recovery was gradual, but by the end of the week he was acting as though he had never had his arm impaled by the horn of a dragon. The healing rates of Jinchuriki…

Swan, on the other hand, did not have extraordinary healing abilities. It was a week before she could stand on her leg again (2), and a few more before she could walk properly and regain her normal duties. Madam Pomfrey's magic and Slug's healing techniques helped a lot, though. When Swan had recovered fully, her leg looked completely normal.

But the guards, Dumbledore and some of the teachers were all wondering the same thing: who was it?

Who had let the dragons out of their enclosure? Who had Stunned the dragon handlers? Who had put Hermione under the Imperious curse and made her attack the shinobi?

Nobody knew the whereabouts of the Shinobi Quarters apart from the ninja themselves and Dumbledore. But the guards trusted Dumbledore completely. None of the teachers were supposed to know about the ninja's common room. And the students were not powerful enough to Imperious someone, nor did they know where the guards' quarters were either. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff held no grudge against the shinobi, so why would they attack them?

It was all a big mystery, one that was continuing to unravel.

…

**(1) I don't think I put that ****quote in chapter six (I can't be bothered to check) when they were learning about the Unforgivable Curses, but I got that straight from the book…**

**(2) I don't know how long it usually takes for a severe burn to heal for us humans, but Swan/Ino is a shinobi, they have Sakura's healing techniques and Madam Pomfrey, who is a pretty good witch nurse :D**

**People aren't reviewing as often D: Has my writing quality gone down or something?**


	14. Partner?

**I've decided to start using line breaks XD**

**My reviewers, thank you very much: ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****BloodTrinity****, ****SillyChicha14****, ****MizzTroublezxx****, ****Furionknight****, ****soprano-in-waiting****, ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****Arisyne****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****kitsuneluvuh****, ****YOUTHFULL GUI****, SiriusBalisticPretzles, ****Anonymoose13****, ****WinxPossible****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye**

**Chapter ****Fourteen: Partner?**

* * *

><p>Suna was a desert, full of dry, sandy winds and the hot, burning sun. Konoha's weather was normally fine and sunny, usually leaning towards the hot side rather than the cold. The coldest Konoha would get was when it rained, and the day it snowed in Suna would be the day when Kakashi stops reading his <em>Icha Icha <em>series. Translation: never.

But the start of December brought along wind and sleet to Hogwarts, and the ninja, especially Gaara, was _not_ used to the freezing weather. The shinobi grew increasing moody, and snapped at anyone who dared to annoy them too much. Along with their usual ANBU attire, they had covered themselves in long, thick white cloaks with hoods, which kept them warmer.

In their next Care of Magical Creatures lessons, the class were very disheartened to find that Hagrid was going to conduct an experiment on the Blast-Ended Skrewts.

"I don't know whether they hibernate or not," Hagrid told the shivering class in the windy pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, Raccoon and Fox were looking after the lesson today, and they were both in grumpy moods.

"Thought we'd jus' try an' see if they fancied a kip… we'll jus' settle 'em down in these boxes…"

There were now only ten Skrewts left; apparently their desire to kill each other had not been exercised out of them. Each of them were now rapidly approaching four metres in length. Their thick, grey armour, their powerful, scuttling legs, their fire blasting ends, their stings and their suckers, combined to make the Skrewts the most repulsive things Harry had ever seen. The class looked dispiritedly at the enormous boxes Hagrid had brought out, all lined with pillows and fluffy blankets.

"We'll jus' lead 'em in here," Hagrid said, "an' put the lids on, and we'll see what happens."

But the Skrewts, it transpired, did _not_ hibernate, and did not appreciate being forced into pillow-lined boxes, and nailed in. Hagrid was soon yelling "Don' panic, now, don' panic!" while the Skrewts rampaged around the pumpkin patch, now strewn with the smouldering wreckages of the boxes.

Most of the class – Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle in the lead – had fled into Hagrid's cabin through the back door and barricaded themselves in; Harry, Ron and Hermione, however, were among the few who remained outside trying to help Hagrid. Together, they managed to restrain and tie up nine of the Skrewts, though at the coast of numerous burns and cuts; finally, only one Skrewt was left.

Fox and Raccoon sighed and unwillingly went over and captured the remaining Skrewt with Raccoon's sand, holding it to the ground. Fox trudged over and tied it up, leading the Skrewt over to the rest of them.

"Thanks," Hagrid sighed, nodding at the shinobi.

"Well, well, well… this _does_ look like fun."

Rita Skeeter was leaning on Hagrid's garden fence, looking in at the mayhem. She was wearing a thick magenta cloak with a furry purple collar today, and her crocodile skin handbag was over her arm.

"Who're you?" Hagrid asked, straightening up.

"Rita Skeeter, _Daily Prophet_ reporter," Rita replied, beaming at him. Her gold teeth glinted.

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore?" said Hagrid, frowning slightly.

Rita acted as though she hadn't heard what Hagrid had said.

"What are these fascinating creatures called?" she asked, beaming still more widely.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," grunted Hagrid.

"Really?" said Rita, apparently full of lively interest. "I've never heard of them before… where do they come from?"

As Rita and Hagrid conversed, Fox and Raccoon dragged hands down their faces under their masks.

"Can we go back inside?" Raccoon muttered. "I'm freezing."

"You didn't seem that cold when you went to the Land of Iron for the Kage Summit a few years ago," Fox pointed out. "It was snowing, too."

"Just because I _seemed_ fine doesn't mean I was," Raccoon said. "Then again, I had more pressing problems on my mind, so I didn't really notice the cold."

The bell rang up at the castle, signalling the end of the lesson.

Harry thoroughly enjoyed Double Divination that afternoon; they were still doing star charts and predications, but now that he and Ron were friends once more, the whole thing seemed very funny again. Swan and Slug were sitting in a corner and they were both pouring over medical scrolls.

Professor Trelawney, who had been so pleased with the pair of them when they had been predicting their own horrific deaths, quickly became irritated with them as they sniggered through her explanation of the various ways in which Pluto could disrupt everyday life.

"I would _think_," she said, in a mystical whisper that did not conceal her obvious annoyance, "that _some_ of us" – she stared very meaningfully at Harry – "might be a little less _frivolous_ had they seen what I have seen, during my crystal-gazing last night. As I sat here, absorbed in my needlework, the urge to consult the orb overpowered me. I arose, I settled myself before it, and I gazed into its crystalline depths… and what do you think I saw gazing back at me?"

"An ugly old bat in oversize specs?" Ron muttered under his breath. Harry fought hard to keep his face straight. The two kunoichi coughed to hide their laughter as they overheard him.

"_Death_, my dears."

Parvati and Lavender both put their hands over their mouths, looking horrified.

"_Why do people take this class?"_ Swan murmured to Slug. The pink haired girl shrugged.

"_I don't know, it's pretty useless,"_ Slug said.

"_The old hag must have predicted Potter-san's death over fifty times already," _Swan said.

Later that evening, Ron and Harry did not find Hermione anywhere. She was not at dinner nor at the library. When they went back to the Gryffindor Tower with Slug and Swan still tailing them, they heard the sound of racing feet. Hermione dashed into view, her face pink with running, Cat ghosting along behind her.

"Hey Cat," Swan said.

"Harry!" she panted, skidding to a halt beside him. "Harry, you've got to come – you've _got_ to come, the most amazing thing has happened – please –"

"Granger-san found the kitchens," Cat murmured to Swan and Slug. Hermione seized Harry's arm ad started to try and drag him back along the corridor.

"What's the matter?" Harry said. Harry and Ron, dragged by Hermione, went down six floors and started down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall.

Hermione turned left at the bottom of the staircase, and hurried towards the door through which Cedric Diggory had gone the night after the Goblet of Fire had regurgitated his and Harry's names. Harry had never been through here before. He and Ron, followed by the three kunoichi, went after Hermione down a flight of stone steps, but instead of ending up in a gloomy underground passage like the one which led to Snape's dungeon, they found themselves in a broad, stone corridor, brightly lit with torches, and decorated with cheerful paintings that were mainly of food.

Hermione opened the door to the Hogwarts kitchens, and Harry had a brief glimpse of an enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the Great Hall above it, when something small hurtled towards him from the middle of the room, squealing, "Harry Potter, sir! _Harry Potter_!"

Next second all the wind had been knocked out as the squealing elf hit him hard in the midriff, hugging him so tightly he thought his ribs would break.

"D-Dobby?" Harry gasped.

"It is Dobby, sir, it is!" squealed the voice from somewhere around his navel. "Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him, sir!"

Dobby let ho and stepped back a few paces, beaming up at Harry.

"Dobby, what're you doing here?" Harry said in amazement.

"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby squealed excitedly. "Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!" Dobby then peered behind Harry and saw Slug, Cat and Swan.

"Miss Cat!" he said in delight, "Miss Slug, Miss Swan! It is lovely to see you three again! Dobby has also been hoping to you see you all as well! Has you come back for more food? What about Mr Dog? Should Dobby send for some chocolate éclairs? When you last visited, he seemed rather attached to them."

"Hi Dobby," Swan smiled. "It is nice to see you again too! Is it alright if I ask for those chocolate éclairs? Dog has wanted to go back down here for a while, but he's been too busy."

The surrounding elves beamed and a second later, a silver tray bearing the chocolate éclairs came whizzing towards them. Hermione bit her lip, but made no noise.

"You've been down here?" Harry asked in surprise. The guards nodded. He turned his attention back to the elf. "And Winky's here too?"

As Dobby launched into his story, Cat, Slug and Swan started talking to the elves. They seemed happy enough to answer her questions, and when they praised them on their cooking, they smiled with delight.

**(A/N I know that in the book it says that Dobby has only been at Hogwarts for a week prior to Harry's meeting with him, but for the sake of the story we'll make it that Dobby has been here since the ninja came to Hogwarts)**

The guards looked up in concern as Winky started having a tantrum, but then went back to conversing with the elves when it seemed as though Dobby had it under control.

After talking with the elves for a while, Cat suddenly stood up and blushed.

"I'm sorry," she told the elves, "we are distracting you from your work. We did not mean to, please, continue with whatever you were doing before we came." Swan and Slug stood up as well, scratching the backs of their heads sheepishly.

But the elves shook their heads hard and assured them that they could do all the work later and that they had nothing to do now.

As they all prepared to take their leave, many of the surrounding elves pressed in upon them, offering snacks to take back upstairs. Hermione refused, with a pained look at the way the elves kept bowing and curtseying, but Harry and Ron loaded their pockets with cream cakes and pies, and even the ninja took back some food to share with the others.

"Thanks a lot," Harry said to elves. The shinobi said their thanks as well, and they left the kitchens.

* * *

><p>"Potter! Weasley! <em>Will you pay attention?<em>"

Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through the Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up. Eagle and Raccoon raised invisible eyebrows at the two boy's childish behaviour. It was the end of the lesson, and they had finished their work. The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron had been playing with a couple of Fred's and George's fake wands at the back of the class.

"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age," said Professor McGonagall, with an angry look at the pair of them, "I have something to say to you all."

"The Yule Ball is approaching – a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialise with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above – although you might invite a younger student if you wish."

Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudges her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she, too, fought not to giggle.

"Dress robes will be worn," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight, in the Great Hall. Now the –"

Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.

"The Yule Ball is of a course a chance for us all to – er – let our hair down," she said in a disapproving voice.

Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.

"But that does NOT mean," Professor McGonagall went on, "that we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders.

Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter – a word if you please."

Assuming this had something to do with his game that had gotten him and Ron into trouble, Harry proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk.

Professor McGonagall waited until the rest of the class had gone, save Raccoon and Eagle, and then said, "Potter, the champions and their partners –"

"What partners?" said Harry.

Professor McGonagall looked suspiciously at him, as though she thought he was trying to be funny.

"Your partners for the Yule Ball, Potter," she said coldly. "Your _dance partners_."

Harry's insides seemed to curl up and shrivel. "Dance partners?"

He felt himself going red. "I don't dance," he said quickly.

"Oh yes, you do," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball."

Even Raccoon struggled not to laugh as he saw the expression on Harry's face. Priceless.

"I'm not dancing," he said.

"It is traditional," said Professor McGonagall firmly. "You are a Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter."

"But – I don't –"

"You heard me, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, in a very final sort of way.

* * *

><p>"The Yule Ball is something that is traditionally held with the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore explained to the guards at dinner that night. "Basically, it is a dance."<p>

"Dance?" Fox asked, clueless.

"I am guessing that you do not have dances in the ninja world, no?" Dumbledore said.

"Well, we've heard of them…" Dog said doubtfully. "But we have never attended."

"Well, all you have to do is dress up and dance," Dumbledore said. "Well, will you be attending as guests or guards?"

".. Both," Fox said. "We'll be taking off our masks during the dance on Christmas, whatever Christmas is," he muttered the last part.

"We are?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. Tsunade-baa-chan said so. She sent me a letter after I gave her the last monthly mission report," Fox confirmed. Raven scowled under the mask; he hoped the girls here were not like the ones back in Konoha.

"Excellent," Dumbledore beamed. "Also, traditionally, for a dance, you should have partners."

"Why do we need partners?" Eagle asked. Dumbledore's lips twitched.

"So you can dance with them," he smiled. He swept to his feet and went back to the High Table.

"Granger-san," Cat said, appearing next to her as soon a Dumbledore had left. Hermione had been sitting down and eating dinner when she had appeared.

"Oh, Cat," Hermione said. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. Me and my… comrades were wondering what Christmas is," Cat said. Harry, who had been eating next to her, choked.

"You don't know what Christmas is?" Harry said, shocked and swallowing his food with difficulty.

"What do they have in your world?" Ron asked, incredulous.

"Um, well. Basically, Christmas is a big celebration we hold that involves giving each other presents and everything," Hermione said.

"Presents…" Cat repeated thoughtfully. "Oh, so I have to give you presents?"

"No, you don't _have_ to," Hermione said, "We do it because we _want_ to."

"Oh," said Cat. "So… what are we supposed to do at the Yule Ball?"

"You dance," Hermione said simply.

"That's what Dumbledore-san said," Cat asked. She seemed lost in thought.

"Okay," she said finally, "thanks for your help, Granger-san."

"Pleasure," Hermione said, watching the guard flit back to the Ninja Table.

* * *

><p>A week ago, Harry would have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the Horntail.<p>

Harry had never known so many people to put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; he always did, of course, because the alternative was usually going back to Privet Drive, but he had always been very much in the minority before now. This year, however, everyone in the fourth year and above seemed to be staying, and they all seemed to Harry to be obsessed with the coming ball – or, at least, all the girls were, and it was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; he had never quite noticed that before.

Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night.

"Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked Ron, as a dozen or so girls walked past them, sniggering and staring at Harry. "How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"

"Lasso one?" Ron suggested. "Got an idea who you're going to try?"

Harry didn't answer. He knew perfectly well whom he'd _like_ to ask, but working up the nerve was something else… Cho was a year older than he was; she was very pretty; she was a very good Quidditch player; and she was also very popular.

"It's not that hard, Potter-san," Dragon laughed, startling them. They hadn't noticed that she was following them. "You just go up to a girl and ask."

"Easy for you to say," Harry grumbled. "You're a girl, you don't have to ask anyone, because they'll come and ask you."

"Exactly, I _am_ a girl, so I know how one thinks," Dragon grinned. "As I said, just go and ask."

"Easier said than done," Ron said. "Besides, are any of you guys going to the ball?"

"Yes," Dragon said. "We're security, remember?"

"No, I meant going as guest," Ron said. "You know, with partners and everything."

"Maybe…" Dragon trailed off.

The last week of term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumours about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though Harry didn't believe half of them – for instance, that Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be a fact, however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters. Exactly who or what the Weird Sisters were Harry didn't know, never having had access to a wizard's wireless, but he deduced from the wild excitement of those who had grown up listening to the WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network) that they were a very famous musical group.

Some of the teachers, like little Professor Flitwick, gave up on trying to teach them much when their minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed them to play games in his lesson on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to Harry about the perfect Summoning Charm he had used during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from ploughing on through his notes on goblin rebellions – as Binns hadn't let his own death stand in the way of continuing to teach, they supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off.

Professor Moody and McGonagall kept them working until the very last second of their classes, too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry.

* * *

><p>"So, have you lot gotten dates for the ball yet?" Fred asked one evening in the Gryffindor common room. Swan was watching over them tonight.<p>

"Nope," said Ron.

"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said George.

"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.

"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.

"What?" said Ron, taken aback. "You've already asked her?"

"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oi! Angelina!"

Angelina, who had been chatting to Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him.

"What?" she called back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.

"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting, with a bit of a grin on her face.

"There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake."

He got to his feet, yawning, and went off with George. Ron stopped staring after the twins and looked across at Harry.

"We _should_ get a move on, you know… ask someone. He's right; we don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."

Hermione let out a splutter of indignation. "A pair of _what_, excuse me?"

Swan, who had been listening to their conversation, sighed sympathetically for Hermione. She appeared beside Hermione and put a hand on her shoulder. Hermione glanced up at her.

"Boys are a bunch of idiots, aren't they?" she murmured into Hermione's ear. Hermione harrumphed in agreement.

"You think so?" Hermione said, annoyed. "Well, I agree. I'm going to bed." Swan rubbed her temples and looked over at Ron and Harry, who were both staring after their female friend, clueless.

"I feel kinda sorry for Granger-san," Swan said to herself.

* * *

><p>The Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. When the decorations went up, Harry noticed that they were the most stunning he had yet seen inside the school.<p>

Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting golden owls, and the suits of armour had all been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them. It was quite something to hear "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" sung by an empty helmet that only knew half the words. Several times, Filch the caretaker had to extract Peeves form inside the armour, where he had taken to hiding, filling in the gaps in the songs with lyrics of his own invention, all of which were very rude.

And still, Harry hadn't asked Cho to the ball. He and Ron were getting very nervous now, though as Harry pointed out, Ron would look much less stupid than he would without a partner; Harry was supposed to be starting the dancing with the other champions.

"Harry – we've just got to grit our teeth and do it," said Ron on Friday morning, in a tone that suggested they were planning the storming of an impregnable fortress **(lol XD)**. "When we get back to the common room tonight, we'll both have partners – agreed?"

"Er… oaky," said Harry.

But every time he glimpsed Cho that day – during break, and then lunchtime, and once on the way to History of Magic – she was surrounded by friends. Didn't she _ever_ go anywhere alone? Could he perhaps ambush her as she was going to the bathroom? But no – she even seemed to go there with an escort of four or five girls. Yet if he didn't do it soon, she was bound to have been asked by somebody else.

Fox snickered softly as he watched Harry in Potions. He knew his mind was somewhere else. After receiving zero marks for his Antidote test, Fox followed Harry as he hurried out of the dungeon door.

He went after Harry as he set off through the packed corridors looking for a girl by the name of Cho Chang. Fox had seen Harry eyeing the girl for a few days now. Harry found her emerging from a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.

"Er – Cho? Could I have a word with you?"

Giggling should be made illegal, Harry thought furiously, as all the girls around Cho started doing it. She didn't, though. She said, "Okay", and followed him out of earshot of her classmates. Fox was stuck to the ceiling, but heard everything that was said.

"Er," Harry said.

He couldn't ask her. He couldn't. But he had to. Cho stood there looking puzzled, watching him.

The words came out before Harry had quite got his tongue around them.

"Wangoballwime?"

Fox, who was listening in, snorted quietly.

"Sorry?" said Cho.

"D'you – d'you want to go to the ball with me?" said Harry. Why did he have to go red now? _Why?_

"Oh!" said Cho, and she went red, too. "Oh, Harry, I'm really sorry," and she looked it, too. "I've already said I'll go with someone else."

"Oh," said Harry.

It was odd; a moment before, his insides had been writhing like snakes, but he suddenly didn't seem to have any insides at all.

"Oh, okay," he said, "no problem."

"I'm really sorry," she said again.

"That's okay," said Harry.

An awkward moment passed between them, before Cho said goodbye and started walking away.

"Who're you going with?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.

"Oh – Cedric," she said. "Cedric Diggory."

"Oh right…"

As Harry walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, Fox dropped down beside him.

"Hey, Fox," Harry said dully. Fox clapped his back sympathetically.

"First rejection?" Fox asked.

"… Yeah."

"Heh, don't worry. You're bound to get rejected sooner or later in life," Fox chuckled. "I mean, Slug's been rejecting me for years, before I finally stopped asking her to go out with me."

"You gave up?" Harry asked.

"No, I found someone else," Fox grinned. "More special."

Harry and Fox entered the Gryffindor common room, and spotted Ron sitting ashen faced in a distant corner. Ginny was sitting with him, talking with him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice. Cat was sitting with him too, and Fox realised that she was trying not to laugh at him.

"What's up, Ron?" said Harry, joining them. Ron looked up at Harry, a blind sort of horror on his face.

"Why did I do it?" he said wildly. "I don't know what made me do it!"

"What?" said Harry.

"He – er – just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him," said Ginny. She looked as though she was fighting back a smile, but she kept patting Ron's arm sympathetically.

"You _what_?" said Harry.

"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped again. "What was I playing at? There were people – all around – I've gone mad – everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the Entrance Hall – she was standing there talking to Diggory – and it sort of came over me – and I asked her!"

Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept taking, though the words were barely distinguishable. "She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then – I dunno – I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."

Fox was trying not to let any laughter escape from his throat, and was successful.

"Hello," said Hermione, appearing through the portrait hole, "how come you two weren't at dinner?" She directed the question to Ron and Harry.

"Because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball," said Ginny, causing Harry and Ron to stop chuckling.

"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," said Ron sourly.

"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. But Ron was staring at Hermione as though seeing her in a whole new light. "Hermione, you're a girl."

Cat face palmed.

_Are you serious?_ Cat thought. _They only just noticed?_

"Oh, well spotted," Hermione said acidly.

"Well – you can come with one of us!"

"No, I can't," snapped Hermione.

"Oh, come on," Ron said impatiently, "we need partners; we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, and everyone else has… even the guards!"

"I can't come with you," said Hermione, now blushing, "because I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not," Ron said. "You just said that so you could get rid of Neville when _he_ asked you to come to the dance with him."

"Oh, _did_ I?" said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously. "Just because it's taken _you_ three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one _else_ has spotted I'm a girl!"

Ron stared at her. Then he grinned.

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said. "That do? Will you come now?"

"I've already told you," Hermione said, very angrily. "I'm already going with someone else."

And she stormed off towards the girl's dormitories.

"Idiot," Cat muttered, glaring at Ron.

"She's lying," Ron said flatly, watching her go.

"She's not," said Ginny quietly.

"Who is it, then?" said Ron sharply.

"I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny.

"Right," said Ron, looking extremely put out, "this is getting stupid. Ginny, _you_ can go with Harry, and I'll just –"

"I can't," said Ginny, and she went scarlet too. "I'm already going with – with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought… well… I thought I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year." She looked extremely miserable. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she said, and she got up and walked off to the portrait hole, her head bowed.

Ron goggled at Harry.

"What's got into them?" he demanded.

But Harry had just seen Parvati and Lavender come in through the portrait hoe. The time had come for drastic action.

"Wait here," he said to Ron, and he stood up, walked straight up to Parvati, and said, "Parvati? Will you go to the ball with me?"

Parvati went into a fit of giggles. Harry waited for them to subside, his fingers crossed in the pocket of his robes.

"Yes, all right, them," she said finally, blushing furiously.

"Thanks," said Harry, in relief. "Lavender – will you go with Ron?"

"She's going with Seamus," said Parvati, and the pair of them giggled harder than ever.

Harry sighed.

"Can't you think of anyone who'd go with Ron?" he said, lowering his voice so that Ron wouldn't hear.

"What about Hermione Granger?" said Parvati.

"She's going with someone else."

Parvati looked astonished.

"Ooh – _who_?" she said keenly.

Harry shrugged. "No idea," he said. "So what about Ron?"

"Well…" said Parvati slowly, "I suppose my sister might… Padma, you know… in Ravenclaw. I'll ask her if you like."

"Yeah, that would be great," said Harry. "Let me know, will you?"

Harry went back to Ron, Fox and Cat. The two guards stared at him as he sat down.

"Good job," Fox said finally, after Harry raised his eyebrows at both of them. Cat chuckled.

* * *

><p>"I think we might have to send for some more ANBU," Naruto said thoughtfully, entering the Ninja Common Room.<p>

"Naruto," Gaara said.

"Eh? Why?" Ino asked.

"With Triwizard Tournament going on, we need more people guarding the school while the rest of us are at the task site," Naruto said.

"You think Hokage-sama can send us Lee, Shino and everyone else?" Kiba asked eagerly.

"Hmm," Ino sighed. "I haven't really realised this, but I'm getting homesick."

"Not planning on quitting this mission, are you?" Sakura teased.

"No!" Ino said, shocked, "I would never."

"Meh, I know what Ino means," Shikamaru said, flopping down on an armchair. "I'm homesick too, and while I'm not going to quit this mission, it sure is troublesome."

* * *

><p><strong>Shikamaru's in the end scene again. <strong>

***** ****Forgive me, everyone, but I have had a mix up between my two crossovers T_T Um… does this story have the Akatsuki in it or doesn't it? Coz I remember playing around with the idea but I don't remember what I decided, and I can't be bothered going back and reading through my previous chapters to check…**

**Regarding Lee and the others, there'll be an Author's Notes at the start of the next chapter. Please read it.**


	15. The Yule Ball

**Well... I'm ****going to Cairns for a holiday, so don't expect to hear from me for a while. I have also decided to update this story biweekly (every two weeks). Sorry, but I have a normal life, and that normal life is very full right now XD**

***** I know some of you wanted Shino, Choji **** and co. to come to Hogwarts as well, and I was planning to put them in too, but I realised that if I did, there will be too many characters for me to juggle, so I'm discarding that idea, unfortunately. Sorry guys. **

**My reviewers: ****Princesskitsune17****, ****insaniac34****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****kitsuneluvuh****, ****Spider's Thread****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****SillyChicha14****, ****YOUTHFULL GUI****, ****.pjo****, SiriusBalisticPretzels, ****Furionknight****, ****, ****WinxPossible****, ****MizzTroublezxx****, ****ShadowsBloodPain****, ****Dead End v1**

**Chapter ****Fifteen: The Yule Ball**

* * *

><p>Despite the heavy workload of homework that the first years had been given for the holidays, Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else. Gryffindor Tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time, it seemed to have shrunk slightly, too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual.<p>

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly frosted pumpkin next to the iced ginger bread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost.

The first day it snowed, Fox dropped his indifferent ANBU attitude and was beside himself with excitement.

"Snow!" he crowed. "Snow! Look at the snow!"

"Fox, you've seen snow before," Slug said. "Remember in the Land of Iron?"

"Yeah, but I was too busy worrying about Sasuke-teme to notice it," Fox said.

Fox went out onto the lawn and ran his hand through the white stuff. He smiled and spent about half an hour outside doing various things to the snow and laughing like a child.

Ron and Harry spent their time playing chess, with Eagle and Raven sitting down to watch them with curiosity. Then, Ron and Harry would watch the two play shogi in the evenings.

The week before Christmas was very peaceful. For Harry, there were no classes and he had lots of free time. For the ninja, they spent their time catching up on missed training.

Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose.

"_Dobby!_" Harry yelled, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed. "Don't _do_ that!"

Raccoon, who had stayed in the Gryffindor Tower for the night, had entered the dorm, his sand out and a kunai poised, looking for the source of danger.

"It's alright," Harry told the guard, though his heart was still hammering, "it's just Dobby." Raccoon stowed his kunai away.

"Dobby is sorry, sir!" squeaked Dobby anxiously, jumping backwards with his long fingers over his mouth and glancing nervously at Raccoon. "Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter 'Merry Christmas' and bring him a present, sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!"

"It's okay," said Harry, still breathing fast than usual, while his heart ate returned to normal. "Just – just prod me or something in the future, all right; don't bend over me like that…"

Harry pulled back the hangings around his four poster bed, took his glasses from the bedside table and put them on. His yell had woken Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville. All of them were peering through the gaps of their own hangings, heavy eyed and tousle haired.

"Someone attacking you, Harry?" Seamus asked sleepily.

"No, it's just Dobby," Harry muttered. "Go back to sleep."

"Nah… presents," said Seamus, spotting a large pile at the foot of his bed. Ron, Dean and Neville decided that now they were awake they might as well get down to some present-opening, too. Harry turned back to Dobby, who was now standing nervously next to Harry's bed, still looking worried that he had upset Harry. There was a Christmas bauble tied to the loop on the top of his tea-cosy.

"Can Dobby give Harry Potter his present?" he squeaked tentatively.

"'Course you can," said Harry. "Er… I've got something for you, too."

It was a lie; he hadn't bought anything for Dobby at all, but he quickly opened his trunk, and pulled out a particularly knobbly rolled-up pair of socks. They were his oldest and foulest, mustard yellow, and had once belonged to Uncle Vernon.

"Sorry, I forgot to wrap them," Harry said, handing them to Dobby.

But Dobby was utterly delighted.

"Socks are Dobby's favourite, favourite clothes, sir!" Dobby said and put them on at once, and then went on to say that the owner had made a mistake and given Harry two socks of the same pattern.

After Ron gave Dobby his present, Dobby's present was revealed to be socks as well.

Harry opened the rest of his presents, and then found one from all of the guards. He unwrapped it curiously, and found that it was a knife that he had heard the ninja call a 'kunai'. It was extravagantly carved and decorated, not meant for everyday use at all, more like a decoration. It was carved out of gleaming silver; the hilt was made of gold and covered in thick red fabric. In the hole at the end of the kunai dangled an ornamental tassel. A note attached to it said, _'Don't forget us'_ and at the end of the note there was a face with its tongue sticking out. Harry grinned.

Ron had received the same type of knife, and he examined it in awe on his wrapping-strewn bed.

"Pretty cool," he said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione met up in the common room, and they found all the ninja there. Apparently, they had decided to sleep over in the Gryffindor Tower. They were staring at their open presents, silent.

"You – you gave us presents," Fox said in awe. He picked up his present, which was from all three of them – Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Thank you."

The ninja thanked the trio, and then stowed their presents away, somewhere…

"Well, thanks for your kunai," Harry said. Hermione, it seemed, had received the same gift as Harry and Ron. After exchanging their thanks, they spent most of their time in the Gryffindor Tower, and then went down to the Great Hall for lunch, where the shinobi thoroughly enjoyed pulling on the large piles of Cribbages Wizarding Crackers. However, the first time they were pulled, the Crackers were immediately riddled with a few shuriken and many kunai.

They went out into the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way to the castle. There, the ninja learned what it meant to participate in a snowball fight.

Stag got hit the most, as he was too lazy to bend down and form a snowball, and Raven and Fox got into a furious snowball fight, neither wanting to admit defeat. The kunoichi stayed on the sidelines with Hermione, and took part by using various jutsu, something which the wizards found highly amusing until the jutsu was used on them.

At five o'clock, Hermione and all the kunoichi decided to go back up to the castle to get ready.

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at the girls incredulously, and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head.

"_We_ don't," Slug said. "We're just going up with Granger-san."

"See you later," Dragon said in reply.

"Wait! Aren't you supposed to show us your faces?" Ron called back.

"Later," Slug said, and the girls left.

There was no Christmas tea today, as the ball included a feast, so at seven o'clock, when it had become hard to aim properly (for the wizards, that is. The ninja can see fine in the dark), the others abandoned their snowball fight and trooped back to the castle and then split to their respective common rooms.

* * *

><p>The Fat Lady was sitting in her frame with her friend Violet, and they were both extremely tipsy; empty boxes of chocolate liqueurs littered the bottom of her picture. Harry had to repeat the password a few times because the Fat Lady was giggling too much and wasn't paying attention to him.<p>

Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville changed into their clothes for the evening up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self conscious in their dress robes, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face.

There was just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them seem manlier, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuff. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed as they set off downstairs.

The Entrance Hall was packed with students too, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors of the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different houses were edging through the crowd, trying to find each other. There was a large ruckus at the edges of the crowd, and even though Harry stood on his tiptoes and strained to look, he did not know what was going on. He gave up and just followed Parvati.

Parvati found her sister Padma and led her over to Harry and Ron. She looked just as pretty as her sister.

"Hi," said Padma. She didn't look too enthusiastic about having Ron as a partner, though; her dark eyes lingered on the frayed neck and sleeves of his dress robes as she looked at him up and down.

The ninja were stationed around various parts of the Hall. Half of them were inside, and the rest were outside. Harry had not seen them yet, but he seemed that there was great excitement in the air about the shinobi.

Harry stayed with Parvati, lingering around until he was called. The great oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn't know. Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights. He spotted Cat and Slug standing around outside, and he suddenly realised why there was such a commotion earlier. The two kunoichi were still wearing their masks, yes, but they were also dressed in extravagant and elaborate kimonos.

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here please!"

Fleur Delacour and Roger Davis stationed themselves nearest the doors; Davis looked so stunned by his good fortune in having Fleur for a partner that he could hardly take his eyes off her.

Cedric and Cho were close to Harry, too; he looked away from them so he wouldn't have to talk to them. His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped.

It was Hermione.

But it didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy, but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material.

"Hi, Harry!" she said. "Hi, Parvati!"

Parvati was gazing at Hermione with unflattering disbelief. She wasn't the only one, either. Pansy Parkinson gaped at her as she walked by with Malfoy, and even he didn't seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her. Ron, however, walked right past Hermione without looking at her.

Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs, and follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up towards a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.

The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garland of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The house tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Ron's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students, and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. But Mr Crouch, Harry suddenly realised, was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by none other than Percy Weasley.

The champions and their partners sat down once they reached the table.

"I've been promoted,' Percy said before Harry could even ask, and from his tone, he might have been announcing his election as Supreme Ruler of the Universe **(A/N LOL)**. "I'm now Mr Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him."

Dumbledore stood up, saving Harry from Percy's lecture, and smiled at them all.

"Before we begin," he said, "I would like to re-introduce to you the ninja guards that I have hired, now without their masks." He gestured to the table that all the shinobi had been sitting in. They had left their posts only for this moment. Confused murmurs echoed through the crowd. The shinobi still had their masks on. Dumbledore called for silence.

Harry now saw that all the shinobi were wearing kimonos. He briefly admired the way the boys looked in them, seeing as the male shinobi still looked rather intimidating when wearing a dress-like thing.

The blonde ninja in an orange kimono stood up. He lifted his mask. The others did the same.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto had three curious marks as his face that looked like whiskers.

"Gaara." Gaara had unusually pale skin and had thick black marks encircling his eyes, making him look like a raccoon. He had red tattoo of some character on the side of his forehead. He was wearing a dull red kimono.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Cold onyx eyes, dark blue kimono.

"Nara Shikamaru." His kimono was put on sloppily, and it was forest green.

"Inuzuka Kiba." Kiba had feral eyes and a red fang tattoo on each cheek. His kimono was black.

"Hyuga Neji." Neji had strange, pale lavender eyes with no pupils. Neji seemed the most respectful out of all the shinobi Harry had seen so far. He was in a white kimono with red streaks.

"Hyuga Hinata." Hinata had the same eyes as Neji. Hinata's kimono was lavender with butterflies all over it. She had scooped her hair in a butterfly clasp, but left her long bangs free.

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura's kimono was pale pink, matching her hair, which was held up in an elegant bun, with red cherry blossoms decorating it.

"Tenten." The students raised eyebrows at her lack of last name. Tenten was smiling cheerfully, and she was red with golden clouds. Her hair, still done up in her two buns, had red ribbons weaving through it.

"Yamanaka Ino." Ino's kimono was pale blue and had startling white cranes gliding over it. Ino still had her hair up in a ponytail, but she decorated it with a blue ribbon.

"They said their last names first," Dumbledore added into the stunned silence. Predictably, as soon as they were finished, the students started talking.

"Are you _serious_?"

"They are so hot!"

"Why are they so young?"

"I can't believe this."

The students jabbered and chattered, pointing openly to the guards. The teachers were also staring, open mouthed, at the shinobi, who had started to feel rather self conscious.

Dumbledore then sat down and waited patiently for silence. When it came, he stared down at the glittering golden plate in front of him, picked up a menu, and said clearly, "Pork chops!" which brought the students out of their stupor of the guards.

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates, too.

"Choji would have a blast if he could order like this," Kiba said, staring at the food appearing in front of the students. The ninja had decided not to eat. Their guards would be down if they did.

Harry, meanwhile, was staring at the guards.

And staring.

And staring.

How old were they?

"Naruto, have you got clones guarding the rest of the school?" Tenten asked. Naruto nodded with his mouth full of ramen.

"Yup," he said, swallowing. "Stationed at all corners of the castle, but you guys still have to go and check around during the night; the enemy could take advantage of the situation, seeing as everyone's so distracted."

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, at a wave of his wand, the tables zoomed back along the walls, leaving the floor clear, and then conjured a raised platform into existence along the right-hand wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello and some bagpipes were set upon it.

The Weird Sisters now trooped onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy, and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realised that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.

Naruto gave him a thumbs up and Harry went onto the floor, and Seamus and Dean were waving at him and sniggering. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow and mournful tune, and the next moment, Parvati had seized his hands, placed one around her waist, and as holding the other tightly in hers.

As the champions revolved slowly on the spot, other people started coming in to dance as well. Neji and Tenten left to guard the gardens. Gaara and Sakura retreated to the sides of the Hall, their eyes sharp and alert.

Harry saw Neville and Ginny dancing nearby, and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg.

Harry heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the Hall once more, and Harry let go of Parvati at once. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

"Oh – but – this is a really good one!" Parvati said, as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster.

"No, I don't like it," Harry lied and he led her away from the dance floor, past Fred and Angelina, who were dancing so exuberantly that people around them were backing away for fear of injury, over to the table where Ron and Padma were sitting.

Shikamaru was pacing around the edge of dance floor, and was approached by a few girls wanting to dance. He had refused and rejected so many girls that even Ino had started glaring at him. For Sasuke, he received twice as many girls, and had rejected them all. Cursing silently, the Uchiha skirted the side, trying to avoid all of them.

Speak of the devil.

A girl approached Sasuke, a hopeful look in her eyes. She opened her mouth and began to speak.

"Um, would you like to –"

"No," Sasuke said flatly, before the girl could even get the full sentence out. Hurt flashed out, unashamed, across the girl's face. She hurried away. Another girl promptly took her place.

"I would really like to –"

"No."

And so it stayed that way for the rest of the night. You would think that after a while, the girls would get the point and just leave poor old Sasuke alone, but nah, life just doesn't work that way. The most common word that came out of Sasuke's mouth that night was, "No."

"Do you mind –?"

"No."

All the shinobi noticed the heated argument that Ron and Hermione were having, but were in no position to stop them. Sakura sighed as she watched Hermione storm off, leaving a red faced Ron and an exasperated Harry.

"Found another reason to fight," Sakura said. Gaara nodded, staring at the two boys.

"What was it this time?" he asked. "I wasn't listening."

"Something about how Granger-san gong with Krum-san to the dance is wrong, or something like that," Sakura shrugged, "and how Krum-san is planning to sabotage Potter-san in the Tournament."

"Oh, so it's something trivial," Gaara said. Sakura grinned.

"Basically, yeah," she agreed. They continued to watch the whole dance, looking out for anything suspicious.

"Do you want to go get drinks?" Sakura asked. Gaara nodded, and the pair went off to the side. Kiba and Ino took their place as watch-guards. Sakura noticed Ron and Harry slipping off into the Entrance Hall. Grabbing Gaara's arm, she jerked her head in their direction, and they set off after them.

Sakura let out a breath when she saw that the front doors were open, and fluttering fairy lights twinkled and winked as she and Gaara followed Ron and Harry down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes, winding, ornamental paths, and large stone statues. Sakura detected splashing water, most likely a fountain. Here and there, she saw people sitting on carved benches. Harry and Ron had set off on one of the winding paths, and she and Gaara followed them.

"… don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor."

"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroff's voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. Gaara threw Sakura a glance, and they sank deeper into the shadows. "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months, I am becoming seriously concerned, and I can't deny it –"

"Then flee," said Snape's voice curtly. "Flee, I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."

Snape and Karkaroff came around the corner. Snape had his wand out, and was blasting rose bushes apart, his expression most ill-natured.

_Something's wrong,_ Sakura thought.

"And what are you two doing?" Snape asked, catching sight of Ron and Harry.

"We're walking," Ron told Snape shortly. "Not against the law, is it?"

"Keep walking, then!" Snape snarled, and he brushed past them, his long black cloak billowing out behind him. Karkaroff hurried after Snape.

Sakura and Gaara decided that as they were here, they might as well take a walk too, as well as watch Harry and Ron.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked Gaara as they strolled along the path.

"Do you think they're talking about the Dark Mark?" Gaara asked. Sakura shrugged.

"We should do some research on this Mark," she said. "It's come up a lot."

Sakura and Gaara moved off the topic of the Dark Mark and started talking about everyday things. It resulted in the game 'Twenty Questions'.

"When is your birthday?" Sakura asked the redhead.

"January 19th," Gaara replied.

"Ah, next month," Sakura said. Gaara nodded.

"What is your favourite food?" Gaara asked.

"Hmm… syrup-coated anko dumplings, umeboshi and anmitsu," Sakura replied. Gaara nodded, and though he did not seem interested, he also looked as if he was storing this information carefully into his brain.

"What is your hobby?" Sakura asked.

"Cultivation of cacti," Gaara said immediately.

"Cultivation… of cacti?" Sakura repeated. Gaara cocked his head.

"Anything wrong with that?" he asked. Sakura began to laugh.

"That sounds so cute," she giggled. Gaara stared blankly at her. "Don't ask."

In truth, Sakura didn't really want to tell Gaara about the random image that popped into her head the second he had said what he said (1).

"Okay then, what is your least favourite food?" Gaara said.

"Anything spicy," Sakura said. "Spicy food makes my eyes water."

Gaara was about to answer when the pair sensed the presence Hagrid and Madame Maxime sitting on a stone bench not too far from where they were walking.

It seemed, however, that Harry and Ron, however, did not notice them and kept on goin until they were finally only about two metres apart.

"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew," Hagrid was saying, in an oddly husky voice. Harry and Ron darted into the shadows, and Sakura's eyes widened as her sensitive ninja ears heard every word that Hagrid uttered.

_Crap,_ Sakura thought, _gotta get out of here._

She tugged on Gaara's arm, and they slipped away.

"I didn't want to listen to that," she said after they were out of earshot. Gaara's lips twitched.

"You've gone all pink," he told her, brushing a hand over her cheeks. Sakura blushed even more.

"Do you want to go dance?" she asked. Gaara looked at the dance floor with a faint expression of distaste on his face, and Sakura laughed.

"Come on," she said and pulled him towards where all the dancing was. "It's not that bad." Gaara started imitating a stone stature and would not budge. He met his jade green eyes with hers, and when he spoke, it was in a flat and commanding voice, one that did not let anyone argue against him.

"Hell. No."

* * *

><p>Naruto and Hinata had been walking in the garden as well when they accidently overheard Hagrid's and Madame Maxime's conversation. Though Hinata tried to tug Naruto away, Naruto was still slow on the uptake and didn't realise that it was a <em>private<em> conversation.

They had spotted Gaara and Sakura sneaking away, and noticed Harry and Ron in the bushes. Ron had turned to Harry with a serious expression on his face, and Naruto had wondered why.

"Come on, it's our turn to guard," Hinata said softly. Naruto agreed, and the two of them went away from the dance and began checking the other empty floors of Hogwarts.

Neji and Tenten tried dancing, but the latter gave up after the first one. Neji had been the one to guide Tenten around the steps, and the Weapons Mistress found out that she didn't like dancing.

"Granger-san, you look so pretty!" Tenten said as she spotted the Gryffindor girl sitting at a table.

"Thanks, Tenten," Hermione said, remembering her name when she introduced herself. "Hello, Neji."

The Hyuga nodded graciously at her, and sat down next to Tenten.

"Where's Krum-san?" Neji asked.

"He's gone to get drinks," Hermione said, fanning herself. She had been looking for one of the ninja all evening, and then, unable to stop herself, she asked, "How old are you?"

Neji and Tenten glanced at her in surprise.

"Me and Neji are eighteen," Tenten said finally. "All the others are seventeen."

"Oh…" was all Hermione could say. In truth, she was shocked. Her mind then wandered back to the first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson they had that year. She remembered how cold they were, how they talked of death so easily, and shuddered. But she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Krum returned with drinks, and the four of them talked for a while, before Hermione and Krum got up to dance again. Neji and Tenten went on guard duty outside.

When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause, and started to wend their way into the Entrance Hall.

Professor McGonagall stopped Professor Dumbledore before he could slip off, though.

"Dumbledore!" she called out. The headmaster turned and smiled at her.

"Minerva," he said, "I hope you enjoyed your evening."

"Never mind that," Professor McGonagall snapped. "I'm here to talk to you about our guards." Dumbledore waited patiently for her to speak. The other Hogwarts teachers heard what the Transfiguration teacher had said and stopped to listen as well.

"They're just children," Professor McGonagall said through gritted teeth. "The people who are guarding Hogwarts against who-knows-what are _just children_."

"And?"

"Children, Albus!"

"Yes, Minerva," Dumbledore said quietly. "They may be just children, but in their world, they are already considered as fully-fledged adults." Professor McGonagall looked at the headmaster with a shocked look on her face. She was mouthing the words "children" again.

"They are only a few years older than Harry! How are they supposed to protect him when they are that young?" Professor McGonagall whispered. Dumbledore chuckled.

"In their world, they start their education as ninja when they are about six or seven at the Academy. They usually graduate when they are twelve. I don't know the details after that, but it seems as though they have to enter an exam called the Chunin Exam. In the Chunin Exam, there are various tasks which they must pass, and in some cases, they have to kill each other."

"And how old are they when they enter?" Professor Snape asked. He had returned from his (furious) walk in the garden.

"It depends. I know that Naruto's, Sakura's and Sasuke's teacher entered the exam when he was six. A ninja enters the Chunin Exam knowing that they might die. Shinobi mature much faster than we do, because their world is so much harsher. Because of the hard life that ninja normally lead, they lose their childhood earlier, see death earlier, kill earlier."

Professor McGonagall, as well as the rest of the silent teachers, tried to take that all in.

"They will be offended if people call them children, because to them, they are not. Age doesn't make a difference in the ninja world, it doesn't matter if you're seven or seventeen, once you graduate, you are an adult," Dumbledore said. "The guards have already passed all those tests and are now among the elite, have faith in them Minerva, I know they will do their job well."

The Transfiguration teacher sighed.

"I know," she said, "but still… they're… they're… it's just so _unnatural_ to know people that are the same age as our older students take on things that are meant for _adults_."

"But they _are_ adults," Dumbledore said quietly. "Their view of the world is very different than ours. When they were sixteen, they participated in a ninja war. Their world is ruthless and unforgiving. That has hardened them into the cold people they are now, but it's because of that fact that I have hired them. If I hired a normal wizard and he sees the enemy begging for help, the sympathy in his heart will overcome the rules that he has been instructed to follow. But these ninja know that that enemy could be bluffing, that the enemy could only be pretending, and will not trust them. They would most likely take the enemy in for interrogation or just simply kill them, and I know it's harsh, Minerva, but it's true."

Professor McGonagall frowned.

"I do hope you're right, Albus," she murmured. "I do hope you're right."

"That doesn't make it right, though," Professor Sinistra said. "To take the life of others, it isn't right."

"That's kind of what Miss Granger said," growled a voice. Moody appeared at the judge's table and eyed the room full of teachers. "Professor Sinistra, do you know that Aurors have also killed?"

"Yes," Professor Sprout said impatiently, "but that's different."

"How so?" Professor Dumbledore asked, eyeing the Herbology teacher with unusually grave eyes.

"They – they – they've killed for the good of our community, and the ones that have died by their hands are Death Eaters," Professor Sprout said.

"And yet, the Death Eaters are still human," Professor Dumbledore pointed out.

"Sprout-san, may I ask why taking the life of others is wrong?" asked a cold, calm voice. The teachers started and looked over to the entrance of the Great Hall.

The ten shinobi were standing there quietly, and their eyes were strangely void of emotion. All the other students had gone to bed.

Gaara had his head cocked, showing that it was he who had asked the question.

"Ninja," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Everyone deserves a chance at life," Professor McGonagall said, replying to Gaara's question.

"Even if that someone has killed hundreds before him?" Tenten asked.

"Let us tell you this," Shikamaru said. His voice was no longer bored; instead, it was sharp and commanding. "We are not children. We have ceased to become children long, long ago. What we do in our world is none of your business. Yes, we kill, but it is to protect the ones we love. Yes, we kill, but it is so we can survive. Back home on the ninja continent, it's a dog eat dog world, and the rule out there is survival of the fittest."

"So stop questioning us and stop mothering us, we know what we're doing," Sasuke said.

"I know this sounds strange," Naruto said, "but you have to trust us. Ninja are loyal to their clients. And we are loyal to Dumbledore-san."

"Besides," Sakura said with a shrug and a cold smile, "even if you do deem us dangerous, what can you do about it?"

* * *

><p>"I was eavesdropping on Weasley Percy's and Potter-san's conversation when they were eating at the Yule Ball," Sasuke said when the ninja were back in the Shinobi Quarters with Naruto's clones still guarding the school. "I learned that Bartimus Crouch, one of the judges for the Triwizard Tournament, is been ill and therefore did not attend the Yule Ball, that's why Weasley Percy was there; to take his place."<p>

"Right," Naruto said. "Good job, Sasuke-teme." He filed the information away in his brain for future reference. Sasuke glared at him.

"_Dobe…"_

"How did you go escaping your fan girls?"

"Shut the hell up. I was fine, thank you very much."

"Hey, we have a letter," Kiba said, pointing to the table where a wooden bird stood.

"It's from Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto said, darting forward and taking out the scroll from the ebony phoenix's mouth.

"What does it say?" Hinata asked, looking over his shoulder. The shinobi gathered around Naruto, who unfurled the scroll and read it quickly.

"Just an update on what's happening in Konoha," Naruto said. "Nothing special."

* * *

><p><strong>(1). When I first heardread that Gaara's hobby was the cultivation of cacti, this image just suddenly popped into my head:**

**A chibi Gaara crouching down and staring at a cute little cactus and frowning at it, wondering why it was so spiky. **

**Hehe, I'm just weird that way.**

**Yes, I know a lot of people were excited about this chapter, and I'm sorry if you're disappointed.**** But the ninja are supposed to be here as security, not here to go to a ball…**

**The name of this fic has changed to 'Broken Wings'.**


	16. Worry

**Hi again!**

**I changed the name of this fanfic… because I thought the old name (ANBU Mission: Protectin****g Hogwarts) sounded too boring. 'Broken Wings' sounds much more appealing, right?**

**Thanks to****: ****SillyChicha14****, ****Spider's Thread****, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****DarkSakuraSpirit****, YOUTHFUL GUI and ichigo's-lover, ****Furionknight****, SiriusBalisticPretzels, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****tenshi-no-akuma-81****, ****JayneParker****, ****, ****StrawberriesAndCinnamon**** and ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover**

**Chapter ****Sixteen: Worry**

* * *

><p>On Boxing Day, the shinobi woke up at three in the morning, as usual, and in pairs they left to do various things, be it guarding or taking a walk or just going down to the kitchens to get some food.<p>

When it was properly morning, the shinobi decided to watch over Harry.

"Hello," Sakura said cheerfully as the ninja entered the Gryffindor common room. Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced up.

"So… you guys aren't wearing your masks anymore?" Ron asked as they sat. Naruto shook his head.

"What's the point?" he asked. "You've already seen our faces."

"Fair enough," Hermione said.

The magical folk saw that the ninja were still wearing their black clothes, armour and sword, although they had discarded their masks.

"So what are you guys talking about?" Kiba asked, leaning against Akamaru. The trio glanced at each other.

"Um… Hagrid," Harry said.

"About him being half-giant?" Naruto asked.

"How did you know?" Ron said, startled.

"We heard him confessing to Madame Maxime," Hinata said.

They resumed their discussion, the ninja adding in their bit whenever they felt like it. Then, they started thinking about homework, and, in Harry's case, the clue in the egg.

"So have you figured out the egg's clue?" Ino asked Harry. Harry shook his head, a weight falling onto his stomach.

He, once again, was starting to feel slightly nervous.

The trouble was that January the thirtieth looked a lot closer from this side of Christmas, and he still hadn't done anything about working out the clue inside the golden egg. He therefore started taking the egg out of his trunk every time he went up to the dormitory, opening it and listening intently, hoping that this time it would make some sense. He strained to think what the sound reminded him of, apart from thirty musical saws, but he had never heard anything like it. He closed the egg, shook it vigorously, and opened it again to see if the sound had changed, but it hadn't. He tried asking the egg questions, shouting over all the wailing, but nothing happened. He even threw the egg across the room – though he hadn't really expected that to help.

He had not forgotten the hint that Cedric had given him, the hint about taking a bath with the egg (WTF?), but his less-than-friendly feelings towards Cedric just now meant that he was not keen to accept his help if he could avoid it. In any case, it seemed to him that if Cedric had really wanted to give Harry a hand, he would have been a lot more explicit. He, Harry, had told Cedric exactly what was coming in the first task – and Cedric's idea of a fair exchange had been to tell Harry to take a bath. Well, he didn't need that sort of rubbishy help – not from someone who kept walking down the corridors hand in hand with Cho, anyway.

And so the first day of the new term arrived, and Harry set off to lessons, weighed down with books, parchment and quills as usual, but also with the lurking worry of the egg heavy in his stomach, as though he was carrying that around too.

The teachers seemed tense and looked like they were in shock as well. Apparently, they still hadn't gotten over the fact that the guards, who they were trusting their beloved school with, were mere seventeen or eighteen year olds.

When Harry had asked them their age, and they had told him, he couldn't get the surprise off his face. But he had seen what they were capable of; he had gone to watch one of their sparring sessions, and concluded that Hogwarts was in good hands.

But the ninja seemed more withdrawn and distracted than usual, and Naruto kept asking Harry whether his scar was hurting or not, and if it did, did he see any visions.

When they arrived at Care of Magical Creatures, however, they found an elderly witch with closely cropped grey hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door.

"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barked at them, as they struggled towards her through the snow.

"Who're you?" Ron asked, staring at her. "Where's Hagrid?"

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly, "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated loudly.

"He is indisposed," said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.

"Hagrid-san is in the cabin and seems to be in perfectly good health," Neji said, his Byakugan activated.

Soft and unpleasant laughter reached Neji's ears. He turned, already knowing who it was; Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins were joining the class. All of them looked gleeful, and none of them looked surprised to see Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, and she strode off around the paddock where the huge Beauxbatons horses were shivering.

"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry said, hurrying to catch up with Professor Grubby-Plank.

"Never you mind," she said, as though she thought he was being nosy.

"I do mind, though," said Harry hotly. "What's up with him?"

Professor Grubbly-Plank acted as though she couldn't hear him. She led him past the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were standing, huddled against the cold, and towards a tree on the edge of the Forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

Many girls "oohed!" at the sight of the unicorn.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she manage to get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

The unicorn was so brightly white that it made the snow all around look grey. It was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves and throwing back its horned head.

At the presence of the ninja, the unicorn seemed to get agitated; it snorted and neighed.

"I think… it can smell the blood on us," Naruto murmured. Naruto and Neji had sparred that morning, and they only had time for a quick shower before going to watch Harry's class.

"It's a really magical creature, very pure. Maybe it senses that we have killed… a lot," Neji replied. "It probably doesn't like us because we're so tainted with death."

"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care. Come on, easy does it…"

She and the girls walked slowly forwards towards the unicorn, leaving the boys standing near the paddock fence, watching.

The moment Professor Grubbly-Plank was out of earshot, Harry turned to Ron. "What d'you reckon is wrong with him? You don't think a Skrewt –"

"Oh, he hasn't been attacked, Potter, if that's what you're thinking," said Malfoy softly. "No, he's just too ashamed to show his big ugly face."

"What d'you mean?" said Harry sharply.

Malfoy put his hand inside the pocket of his roves, and pulled out a folded page of newsprint.

"There you go," he said. "Hate to break it to you, Potter…"

He smirked as Harry snatched the page, unfolded it, and read it, with Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville looking over his shoulder. It was an article topped with a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty.

_DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE_

_Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, _writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. _In September this year, he hired Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. _

_This year, he also appointed ten ninja guards to 'guard' Hogwarts, although there seems to be nothing to guard against. These ninja are sadistic and bloodthirsty, admitting that they have killed others without batting an eyelid and have tortured for interrogation, falling to the level of Death Eaters, and what's more, they are only seventeen – eighteen years old._

_But these two staff appointments, however, seem kindly and friendly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures. _

_Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of game-keeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the Headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates. _

_An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons which many admit to be 'very frightening'._

"_I was attacked by a Hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a Flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."_

_Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a _Daily Prophet_ reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed 'Blast-Ended Skrewts', highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, it seems, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions._

"_I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject._

_As if this were not enough, the _Daily Prophet _has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not – as he has always pretended – a pure blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown._

_Bloodthirsty and brutal, tha giants have brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring among themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined ranks with He Who Must Not Be Named, and were responsible for some of the worse mass Muggle-killings of his reign of terror._

_While many of the giants who served He Who Must Not Be Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature._

_In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought about You-Know-Who's fall from power – thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants. _

"That's really stupid," Naruto said, who had finished reading the article before them.

"Shouldn't someone stop this Rita Skeeter woman from doing idiotic things like this?" Neji asked, but Harry wasn't listening.

"What do you mean 'We all hate Hagrid'?" Harry spat at Malfoy. "What's this rubbish about _him_" – he pointed at Crabbe – "getting a bad bite off a Flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"

Crabbe was sniggering, apparently very pleased with himself. Neji sighed and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Damn Slytherins," Naruto muttered.

* * *

><p>That evening, Ino followed Harry, Ron and Hermione down to Hagrid's cabin in their attempt to ask Hagrid to come back.<p>

They failed, however, and returned with miserable faces. Ino kept watch over them that night.

There was a Hogsmeade visit Halfway through January. Hermione was very surprised that Harry was planning to go.

"I just thought you'd want to take advantage of the common room being quiet," she said. "Really get to work on that egg."

"Oh, I – I reckon I've got a pretty good idea what it's about now," Harry lied while Kiba rolled his eyes behind him, knowing that what Harry said was false.

"Have you really?" said Hermione, looking impressed. "Well done!"

Harry's insides gave a guilty squirm, but he ignored them. He still had a few weeks to work out that egg clue, after all, and that was ages… and if he went into Hogsmeade, he might run into Hagrid, and get a chance to persuade him to come back.

He, Ron and Hermione left the castle together on Saturday and set off through the cold, wet grounds towards the gates, Kiba and Ino following them. The rest of the shinobi had decided to stay in the castle where it was warmer. As they passed the Durmstrang ship moored in the lake, they saw Viktor Krum emerge onto the deck, dressed in nothing but swimming trunks. He was very skinny, but apparently a lot tougher than he looked, because he climbed up onto the side of the ship, stretched out his arms and dived right into the lake.

"He's mad!" said Harry, staring at Krum's dark head as it bobbed out into the middle of the lake. "It must be freezing, it's January!"

"It's a lot colder where he comes from," said Hermione. "I suppose it feels quite warm to him."

"Yeah, but there's still the giant squid," said Ron. He didn't sound anxious – if anything, he sounded hopeful. Hermione noticed his tone of voice, and frowned.

"He's really nice, you know," she said. "He's not at all like you'd think, coming from Durmstrang. He likes it much better here, he told me."

Ron said nothing. He hadn't mentioned Viktor Krum since the ball.

Harry kept his eyes skinned for a sign of Hagrid all the way down the slushy High Street, and suggested a visit to the Three Broomsticks once he had ascertained that Hagrid was not in any of the shops.

The pub was as crowded as ever, but one quick look around at all the tables told Harry that Hagrid wasn't there. Heart sinking, he went up to the bar with Ron and Hermione, order five Butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta, and thought gloomily that he might just as well have stayed behind and listened to the egg wailing after all. Sitting down, he handed Ino and Kiba two Butterbeers as they sat themselves at the table next to the trio.

"Does he _ever_ go into the office?" Hermione whispered suddenly. "Look!"

She pointed into the mirror behind the bar, and Harry saw Ludo Bagman reflected there, sitting in a shadowing corner with a bunch of goblins. Bagman was talking very fast in a low voice to the goblins, all of whom had their arms crossed, and were looking rather menacing.

It was indeed odd, Harry thought, that Bagman was here at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend when there was no Triwizard even, and therefore no judging to be done. He watched Bagman in the mirror. He was looking quite strained. But just then Bagman glanced over at the bar, saw Harry, and stood up.

"In a moment, in a moment!" Harry heard him say brusquely to the goblins, and Bagman hurried through the pub towards Harry, his boyish grin back in place.

"Harry!" he said. "How are you? Been hoping to run into you! Everything going all right?"

"Fine, thanks," said Harry.

"Wonder if I could have a quick, private word, Harry?" said Bagman eagerly.

He led Harry along the bar to the end furthest from Madam Rosmerta. Kiba stood up and followed them, lurking behind a crowd of wizards, but still within earshot.

"Well, I just thought I'd congratulate you again on your splendid performance against that Horntail, Harry," said Bagman, "Really superb."

"Thanks," said Harry, but he knew this couldn't be all that Bagman wanted to say, because he could have congratulated Harry in front of Ron and Hermione. Bagman didn't seem in any particular rush to spill the beans, though. Harry saw him glance into the mirror over the bar at the goblins, who were all watching him and Harry in silence through their dark, slanting eyes.

"Absolute nightmare," said Bagman to Harry to an undertone, noticing Harry watching the goblins, too. "Their English isn't too good… it's like being back with all the Bulgarians at the Quidditch World Cup." He gave a short, booming laugh.

"What do they want?" Harry said, noticing how the goblins were still watching Bagman very closely.

"Er – well…" said Bagman, looking suddenly nervous. "They… er… they're looking for Barty Crouch."

"Why are they looking for him here?" said Harry. "He's at the Ministry in London, isn't he?"

"Er… as a matter of fact, I've no idea where he is," said Bagman. "He's sort of… stopped coming to work. Been absent for a couple of weeks now. Young Percy, his assistant, says he's ill. Apparently he's just been sending in instructions in by owl. But you would mind not mentioning that to anyone, Harry? Because Rita Skeeter's still poking around everywhere she can, and I'm willing to bet she'd work Barty's illness up into something sinister. Probably says he's gone missing like Bertha Jorkins."

"Have you heard anything about Bertha Jorkins?" Harry asked.

"No," said Bagman, looking strained again. "I've got people looking, of course, and it's all very strange. She definitely _arrived_ in Albania, because she met her second cousin there. And then she left the cousin's house to go south to see an aunt… and she seems to have vanished without a trace, en route. Blowed if I can see where she got to… she doesn't seem the type to elope, for instance… but still… what are we doing, talking about goblins and Bertha Jorkins? I really wanted to ask you," he lowered his voice, "how are you getting on with your golden egg?"

"Er… not bad," Harry said untruthfully.

Bagman seemed to know he wasn't being honest.

"Listen, Harry," he said (still in a very low voice), "I feel very bad about all this… you were thrown into this Tournament, you didn't volunteer for it… and if" (his voice was so quiet now, Harry had to lean closer to listen) "… if I can help at all… a prod in the right direction… I've taken a liking to you… the way you got past that dragon! … Well, just say the word."

Kiba frowned as he listened to that. He had heard from Sasuke that Bagman had offered Harry help with the dragon, and now he was doing it again. He had also picked up some very interesting information about Mr Crouch and Bertha Jorkins.

After Harry had refused his help and gone back to his table, Kiba returned to Ino and relayed to her the information he had heard.

"Weird," she said, "we have to tell Naruto about this."

"Uh oh," Kiba heard Ron say. He turned around and spotted, at the door, Rita Skeeter. She was wearing banana yellow robes today; her long nails were painted shocking pink, and she accompanied by her paunchy photographer.

She bought drinks, and she and the photographer made their way through the crowds to a table nearby, Harry, Ron and Hermione, all of whom were glaring at her as she approached. She was talking fast and looking very satisfied about something.

"… Didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo? Now, why would that be, do you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Showing them the sights… what nonsense… he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? _Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Sport, Ludo Bagman_… snappy start to a sentence, Bozo – we just need to find a story to fit it –"

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" said Harry loudly. Kiba and Ino face palmed.

A few people looked around, and Rita Skeeter's eyes widened behind her jewelled spectacles as she saw who had spoken.

Ino and Kiba sighed as Harry started shouting at the reporter, and the whole pub became silent.

"Let's go," said Hermione. The trio stood up and marched out the door; Kiba and Ino followed them silently.

The trio went back to the castle, Hermione in a towering rage. She banged on Hagrid's door, yelled at him to let her in, and the door was opened to reveal Professor Dumbledore.

"Hello, Dumbledore-san," Ino said sheepishly. "Er, these three wanted to come and see Hagrid." Dumbledore smiled and let them in, and Kiba and Ino hovered in the corner while Hermione, Harry and Ron persuaded Hagrid to come back. Dumbledore told Hagrid that he expected Hagrid to resume teaching on Monday, and be at breakfast at eight thirty.

Kiba and Ino could see in Harry's face that he was planning on working on the egg tonight. The ninja had overheard Cedric Diggory telling Harry how to solve the egg.

"Time to tell Naruto everything we learned today," Ino said as the followed the trio back of to the castle.

* * *

><p>Neji sat at the Ninja Table in the Great Hall eating dinner. His pearly eyes were fixed on his food, only glancing up when the rest of the ninja arrived.<p>

"Hello, Neji," Sakura grinned, sitting down next to him. "Why do you look so uptight?"

"Neji's always uptight," Shikamaru mumbled. "Troublesome." He looked as though he wanted to fall asleep.

Neji ignored his friends and raised a goblet to his lips.

He didn't like the cups here at Hogwarts. They were strange and had a long stem-thing extending from the bottom of the cup and ending in a flat base, making the goblet look tall.

Neji drank the water, and immediately tasted something funny inside it. It was a sour flavour, so tiny that normal people would never have noticed it, but Neji had certainly noticed it. He knew it wasn't normal. Neji spat the water out, earning disgusted looks from the shinobi and the students.

"Neji, what's wrong?" Tenten asked. Neji wiped his mouth, staring distrustfully at the cup.

"N-nothing," Neji said. "It's nothing."

Tenten frowned. She knew Neji was hiding something, but she decided to question him later. Neji stood up abruptly from the table, muttering a tiny, "I've got to go."

He left the Great Hall, and Tenten stood up as well. She decided to go with him; for some reason, Tenten had a bad feeling. Neji looked very distracted.

"Neji!" the Weapons Mistress called out. Neji turned, his pallid eyes fixed on her face. They widened for a second, before he sank gently to the ground.

"Neji!"

Pain.

Neji felt a burning sensation down his throat, and his eyes widened.

_Shit,_ Neji thought. _So it was poison after all._

The burning feeling made its way down his oesophagus and into his stomach.

"Neji!" Tenten shouted, "Neji! What's wrong?"

Neji couldn't answer her. By now, the other ninja had realised that something had happened and had darted out to the Entrance Hall.

"Sakura! Something's wong!"

Neji hunched over, his hands clawing at his burning throat. He cried out.

"Neji!"

Neji twisted on his knees, and fell to the ground, curling up in a fetal position. He started breathing heavily.

"He's been poisoned," Sakura said, keeping her calm, crouching down, "Naruto! Kiba! Hold him down for me!"

The two obeyed without question. The others moved back so Sakura could have some space.

"Goblet!" Neji managed to rasp out. Sakura understood what he meant, and what he said was crucial to the process of removing the poison. If the poison had been inhaled, then she would have to remove it from his veins. 'Goblet' meant that it was swallowed, and swallowed things went to the stomach first. Swallowed poison was easier to remove than inhaled poison or poison that entered the body through the skin.

"Ino," Sakura said. Ino came over. "Ino, remember what Tsunade-shishou taught us about removing swallowed poison?" Ino nodded, no longer smiling, her forehead creased in concentration.

"Naruto, pin Neji's arms to his sides," Ino ordered. "Kiba, keep his legs down."

Neji was writhing on the ground, unable to recognise anybody, his eyes only filled with pain.

"Neji, remember our ANBU training," Sakura said as she readied herself. "Neji, you have to calm down. I know it hurts, but you're gonna have to keep still. Remember our ANBU training. Remember how they taught us to withstand torture? This is nothing more than an exercise, alright? It's just an exercise."

Neji, miraculously, heard her, and he clenched his teeth together. He forced his muscles to still. But then the next bout of pain was too much.

Neji yelled and kept trying to tear his throat out. Naruto grunted and held his arms down.

"Neji!"

With an enormous amount of will, Neji made himself still. His eyes were tightly closed, his jaw rigid. He had unconsciously activated his Byakugan, so now veins stood out around his eyes.

"Okay, Ino, let's go," Sakura said.

The two kunoichi's hands glowed green. Sakura and Ino forced the poison from his stomach and back up his food pipe, and finally out his mouth. The poison had turned orange when it had come into contact with the stomach acids, so now brightly coloured liquid came out of his mouth.

Neji coughed violently as the poison was removed. When the majority of it was removed, he lay there, panting. He no longer struggled, and Naruto and Kiba felt it was safe to let him go again. Tenten took this chance to hurry over to him.

"Neji," she murmured. "Are you okay?"

She grasped his slender, calloused hand in hers, and held it to her chest. She had been given the shock of her life when she saw the agony Neji was in.

Neji calmed down and deactivated his Byakugan. He touched Tenten's hand, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Gaara had gone back into the Great Hall to inspect the goblet Neji had drunk out of.

"The poison was odourless," Gaara informed Sakura, his voice flat. "But it seems as though Neji could taste it, right?"

Neji gave him a tired nod. He sat up groggily, and frowned when his vision swam. Sasuke stood there, sweeping his icy onyx eyes over the crowd. His eyes rested particularly on Moody and Snape, but neither of them showed any suspicious actions. They both just stared blankly back, and Sasuke was too far away to discern what was in their eyes.

"Is he alright?" said a worried voice. Dumbledore stood over them, his kind face creased with concern. The teachers were standing up, looking in the direction of the ninja. There was a large buzz of conversation as the students conversed what they had witnessed.

"Poison," Naruto said. His voice was cold, his eyes hard. "Someone slipped poison into Neji's drink."

Dumbledore was frowning. He had no idea who could have done that.

"Are you still hurting anywhere?" Sakura asked.

"No," Neji whispered. His throat still burned, but that pain was slowly receding. "Thanks Sakura, Ino." The two kunoichi nodded at him.

"We still have to make an antidote to make sure all traces of the poison are removed," Sakura said. "Come on, Ino…"

She and Ino headed towards Snape, knowing that he would probably have the ingredients.

Hinata went over and checked her cousin over, her eyes filled with worry and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm alright, Hinata-sama," Neji stared blankly at her.

"Stop calling me Hinata-sama," Hinata scolded him softly. "Just Hinata is fine."

"I'm sorry I made you worry," Neji said. He was talking to everyone. He grimaced and rubbed his throat. His eyes were slightly unfocused.

"Baka," Naruto said, glaring at him, "don't get poisoned again."

* * *

><p><strong>The poison scene was suggested by Lord Claw.<strong>

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	17. Midnight Bath

**Awww, I love you people. Last chapter, Chapter Sixteen, received twenty three reviews, making it the most reviewed chapter in the story thus far.**

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**Chapter ****Seventeen: Midnight Bath**

* * *

><p>Hyuga Neji made a full recovery from the poison. He was perfectly fine. Just great. But the one thing that got on his nerves was the fact that, over the few days after he had drunk the poison, every teacher, student and ghost had come up to him to ask if he was alright. At first, Neji was pleasantly surprised by the kindness, but then, after the twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth person had asked him the same question: "Are you alright?" he began to get a little pissed.<p>

Did everyone doubt his ability? Did they think that he wasn't strong enough to handle the toxin?

"I'm fine, dammit!" Neji hissed to the ghost who had asked him that dreaded question. "It was only a little bit of poison! What did you think it would do to me? Kill me?"

Tenten, standing quietly behind Neji, thought, _But it almost did._

* * *

><p>Neji's pupil-less eyes narrowed as he watched Harry fidgeting around in his dorm. Then, his Byakugan-activated eyes widened as he watched Harry disappear when he covered himself with the Invisibility Cloak. He could still see his unique energy levels, but he couldn't actually see his body.<p>

_What is Potter-san doing around covered in that Cloak of his?_ Neji wondered.

The Gryffindor Common Room was deserted, and Neji sensed Ron outside the common room, no doubt waiting to let Harry out without the Fat Lady becoming suspicious.

He watched as the bodiless Harry crept down the stairs. Neji got to his feet and stood at the bottom of the staircase. He watched Harry hesitate.

"Potter-san," he said coldly. "Where do you think you're going?"

"How did you know I was here?" Harry said, his head appearing out of nowhere, his green eyes suspicious. Neji watched as Harry's mouth opened in surprise.

"Your eyes," Harry whispered, "they've got… veins and stuff surrounding them."

"My Byakugan," Neji said. He didn't bother explaining to Harry what it could do; he didn't need to know anyway. "I repeat: _where do you think you're going_?

"Um, nowhere," Harry said lamely. Neji simply arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. Harry bit his lip. "I'm going out to try and work out the clue in my egg."

Neji knew that the egg needed to be heard underwater for one to understand what it meant. However…

"Why don't you do it during the day?" Neji said. "It's quite late, you know. Past curfew."

"Well, I'm not sure how long it's going to take," said Harry. The portrait hole opened, revealing Ron, who was expecting Harry on the other side. His eyes grew big when he saw Harry's head floating in the air and Neji in front of it. Then, he realised that his friend got caught.

Neji sighed deeply.

_Naruto is not going to like this,_ Neji thought.

"Fine," he said, "but I'm coming with you."

"Er, I'm going to take a bath," Harry said awkwardly, knowing how strange that sounded. Neji looked at him without a trace of emotion.

"Be thankful that the ninja guarding you tonight wasn't a girl," he said finally. In truth, he _did not_ want to watch Harry take a bath, but this was a mission. Especially with a spy going around somewhere in Hogwarts and not knowing what he or she was up to, Harry needed to be guarded day and night. That didn't mean Neji liked it though. In his head, he was vomiting over and over again.

"Let's go," Neji said, "and put on that strange cloak."

Harry covered himself again, and Neji went down the stairs, telling Ron to go to bed.

"Wait," he told Harry. Neji halted and bit his thumb, making a series of hand signs and slamming his palm to the ground. There was a cloud of smoke, and when it dispersed, a hawk appeared.

"Takashi," he greeted the hawk. Harry had already seen a summoning by one of the ninja, and was therefore unsurprised when it talked and greeted him back.

"Neji-sama, good evening," Takashi said.

"Tell Naruto, who is guarding the castle tonight with Sasuke, that Potter-san is out of bed, but I am with him. He is working on his clue within the egg," Neji said. The hawk nodded, his bright amber eyes alert. He lifted his wings and Neji opened the portrait hole, allowing the bird to fly off.

"Okay, now we can go," Neji said. He slipped out of the portrait hole and Harry climbed out too.

The school was quiet and almost barren. Nothing moved apart from the occasional ghost. The moon was hidden behind a dark grey cloud.

Neji let Harry lead, having no idea where the boy was planning to go. When the pair reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, Neji felt Harry lean forward and heard him mutter the words, "Pine fresh". Neji then recognised the place as the Prefects' bathroom, having gone past the place a few times during his rounds at night.

The door creaked open, and the two entered.

Neji had never been inside the bathroom before, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise as he took in his surroundings.

The Prefects' bathroom was softly lit by a splendid candle-lit chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like a large rectangular swimming pool sunk right into the floor with about a hundred gold taps surrounding it, each with a different jewel set on its handle. There was also a diving board (WTF?) and long white linen curtains hung at the windows (so that pervs can spy on them) and there was also a singly golden-framed painting on the wall, it featured a blonde mermaid, who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair fluttering every time she snored.

Harry put down his Cloak, the egg and the map, and moved forwards, looking around, his footsteps echoing off the walls.

Neji settled down with his back against the wall with his legs crossed, closed his eyes and started meditating. Harry was thankful that Neji had his eyes closed; it would be less awkward.

Harry knelt down and turned on one of the jewel-encrusted taps. He could tell at once that they carried different sorts of bubble bath mixture with the water, though it wasn't a bubble bath as Harry had ever experienced. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs, another poured ice-white foam so thick Harry thought it would have supported his weight if he'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. Harry amused himself for a while turning the taps on and off, particularly enjoying the effect of one whose jet bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs. He played with the taps until Neji finally spoke him from his position.

"Potter-san, hurry up and take your bath. We haven't got all night you know," Neji said, keeping his eyes closed. Harry stuck his tongue out at the guard. "I saw that, Potter-san. You are incredibly childish."

Neji didn't really like the smell of the bubble bath. Too him, it was too perfumed, and ninja did not like things that had too much of a strong scent. It made them easy to track with nin dogs.

Harry rolled his eyes and started taking off his clothes. He slid into the warm, foamy water and found that the bath was so deep his feet barely touched the bottom. He actually did a couple of lengths before swimming back to the side and treading water, staring at the egg that rested at the edge of the bath.

He stretched out his arms and lifted up the egg. He made to open it, until Neji voice, once again, stopped him.

"Don't you dare open that egg out here," Neji said, frowning now with his eyes still closed. He knew that in this bathroom, the egg's wailing sound would be increased tenfold and echo terribly, something he did not wish to hear. He was pretty sure that Kiba would detect the annoying sound from the common room.

He knew that he had given Harry a hint on how to work out the egg's clue, but right now, he didn't really care. It was late at night and Neji didn't really want to hear any loud sounds.

"In case you haven't figured it out, you should put it _in_ the water."

Harry swallowed a considerable amount of bubbles in shock. He stood up, spluttering, and saw the ghost of a very glum looking girl sitting cross-legged on top of one of the taps. It was Moaning Myrtle, who was usually to be heard sobbing in the S-bend of a toilet three floors down.

Neji, of course, had sensed her presence here, and did not show any sign of surprise. A small smile graced his lips, and still without opening his eyes, he said, very pleasantly, "Good evening, Myrtle-san."

"Hello Neji!" Myrtle said, unusually brightly. It seemed as though she had taken a liking to the (handsome) guard.

"Myrtle!" Harry said, outraged. "I'm – I'm not wearing anything!"

The foam was so dense it hardly mattered, but he had a nasty feeling that Myrtle had been spying on him from out of one of the taps ever since he had arrived.

"I closed my eyes when you got in," she said, blinking at him through her thick spectacles and turning her attention away from Neji and back to Harry. "You haven't been to see me for _ages_."

"Yeah… well…" said Harry, bending his knees slightly, just to make absolutely sure Myrtle couldn't see anything but his head, "I'm not supposed to come into your bathroom, am I? It's a girls' one."

"You didn't use to care," said Myrtle miserable. "You used to be in there all the time.

This was true, thought only because Harry, Ron and Hermione had found Myrtle's out-of-order toilets to brew Polyjuice Potion in secret.

Neji cleared his throat, which signalled to Harry to get a move on with the egg.

"Uh… do you know anything about solving the clue in the egg?" Harry asked, pointing to the egg.

"Well… I'd try the egg in the water. That's what Cedric Diggory did."

Harry lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface, and opened it… this time, it did not wail. A gurgling song was coming out of it, a song whose words he couldn't distinguish through the water.

"You need to put your head under, too," said Myrtle, who was thoroughly enjoying bossing him around. "Go on!"

Harry took a great breath, and slid under the surface – and now, sitting on the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath, he could hear a chorus of eerie voice singing to from the open egg in his hands:

'_Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching, ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_And hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took,_

_But past an hour – the prospect's black_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'_

"Did you hear it?" Neji asked quietly, eyes still closed, when Harry resurfaced. Harry shook the water out of his eyes and nodded.

Neji meditated for about twenty minutes while Harry ran through ideas about what lived in the Hogwarts lake with Myrtle commenting now and then.

Finally, Harry had figured it out: mermaids, and with the answer came the problem of breathing underwater. Neji didn't say anything. He wasn't supposed to help, after all. He let Harry ponder for a while, before opening his eyes again for the first time in about forty five minutes.

"We have to go now," Neji said. The boy glanced at him and sighed.

"Close your eyes again," Harry said to Myrtle and Neji. "I'm getting out."

He took the egg from the bottom of the bath, climbed out, dried himself and put on his clothes again.

"Good night, Myrtle," Neji said.

"See you, Myrtle… thanks for your help," Harry said.

"Bye, bye," she said gloomily, and as Harry put on the Invisibility Cloak, he saw her zoom back up the tap.

Out in the dark corridor, Harry examined the Marauder's Map to check that the coast was still clear.

"Let's go," Neji said and he set off at a brisk pace. Harry was still looking at the Marauder's Map when something caught his eyes… something distinctly odd.

There was a dot on the map flitting around Snape's office, and it was labelled 'Bartemius Crouch'.

Harry stopped walking and stared at the dot. Mr Crouch was supposed to be too ill to go to work or to come to the Yule Ball – so what was he doing, sneaking into Hogwarts at one o'clock in the morning? Harry watched closely as the dot moved round and round the room, pausing here and there.

"What's wrong, Potter-san?" Neji asked, sensing that Harry wasn't following him anymore.

Harry hesitated, wondering whether or not to tell the guard. But he was a ninja hired by Dumbledore, and Dumbledore had said that anything suspicious should be reported to them.

"Here," said Harry, thinking it would be easier just to show the guard. He pointed to the dot labelled 'Bartemius Crouch'.

Neji, though surprised and intrigued by the strange map, did not get distracted from the real problem.

_Bartemius__ Crouch… didn't Sasuke say that he was ill and didn't attend the ball? Why is he here? And sneaking around Snape-san's office at this time of the night? _Neji thought, his slender eyebrows arching downwards dangerously.

He saw, with idle interest, that he did not show up on the Marauder's Map. There was a dot labelled 'Harry Potter', but next to him there was nothing there. In fact, none of the ninja were on the map at all. Strange…

"I'll check it out, Potter-san," Neji told Harry. "For now, you go back to your dorm."

Harry pursed his lips, knowing what Neji said was the sensible thing to do, but he was still very curious. Aware of the fact that the Hyuga should not be argued with, Harry nodded.

"I'll take you back," Neji said. "Besides, I'm sure Naruto is there as well."

* * *

><p>"I think… there's an intruder," Naruto murmured. "Something really doesn't feel right." Sasuke glanced at him with his onyx eyes and nodded.<p>

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "Let's go check it out." The two ninja darted from floor to floor, and when they neared Severus Snape's office, they detected a presence and froze.

Their ninja abilities took over, and the pair sank into the shadows and ghosted forwards in absolute silence.

The door of Snape's office stood ajar, and Naruto frowned when he saw random things floating in mid-air.

"_Ne, what's happening?" _Naruto said in the barest of a mumble. The Uchiha was staring at the floating things with a look of concentration on his face.

"_We need Neji or Hinata for this,"_ Sasuke whispered back.

"I'm here," murmured a voice. Neji appeared. "I just took Potter-san back to his dorm. I came straight back here after he had told me what he had seen."

Naruto decided to question Neji later, and he jerked his head in the direction of Snape's office. Neji activated his Byakugan, and frowned.

_It can't be… can it?_ Neji thought as he stared at the energy levels of the person hidden in the Invisibility Cloak. _These energy levels are similar to that of Mad-Eye Moody and Bartemius Crouch, the judge! What's going on?_

* * *

><p>Neji was about to go to towards the invisible person when a sudden explosion startled him. It came from the Forbidden Forest, and Naruto and Sasuke glanced over there as well.<p>

"_Shit,"_ Naruto said, _"gotta go. Neji, you go wake the others. Sasuke and I will go see what this is about."_

Neji growled in frustration and cast one last, lingering glance at the invisible person before body flickering to the Shinobi Quarters.

Neji said the password hurriedly and wretched the door open.

"_Everyone!"_ Neji shouted. The Ninja Common Room was deserted except for Gaara and Sakura. They both jumped up in alarm.

"_Nani? Neji, what's up?"_ Sakura asked. Neji shook his head.

"_Don't know,"_ he replied. _"But we heard an explosion near the Forbidden Forest."_

"_Let's go then,"_ Hinata said. The rest of the shinobi had appeared from their dorm. The ninja flitted out of the Shinobi Quarters and body flickered down to the Forbidden Forest. Along the way, they heard a few more explosions. No doubt the teachers and students would have woken up by now.

"_Naruto,"_ Shikamaru said. "_What's going on?"_

His captain was currently staring down at the dark trees alongside Sasuke, his blue eyes worried.

"_Don't know yet. But__ it could be Death Eaters,"_ Naruto said. A kunai glinted dully in the light, the tip a sharp outline against the darkness. Naruto's muscles were tensed, poised, ready to spring into action. His eyes flickered over to Neji, who nodded and activated his Byakugan.

"Only ten," Neji reported, "I can only see ten enemies." Kiba gave a short bark of laughter.

"Ten?" he repeated. "Are they Death Eaters?"

"Seems like it," Neji said. "I see no shinobi chakra."

"This Voldy guy must be nuts," Kiba said.

"Hinata, Shikamaru, can you guys go up to the castle and make sure no teachers or students try to get out?" Naruto said.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, but he complied anyway after Hinata tugged on his arm.

"STUPEFY!"

A jet of blinding red light shot out from the trees. Naruto sprang into action, running full pelt towards the Forest with inhuman speed. He spotted a cloaked figure, complete with a starched white skull mask, ghosting around a tree. He leapt forward, digging the kunai into the wizard's neck, feeling it tear through soft flesh and muscle, hitting the bone and cracking it. He wretched the knife out and proceeded to his next victim.

Only Naruto, Gaara and Tenten fought; there was no need for the others to get caught up in a scuffle with only ten Death Eaters. Unfortunately, a rogue spell decided to hit Kiba, and the dog nin slumped forward onto the ground.

"Kiba!"

Sakura shot forward and managed to catch him before his head hit the ground. Ino came over as well and began checking his pulse and his vitals.

"What happened to him?" Ino asked urgently. "His pulse is really high."

"It seems as though he's just knocked out, but his heart rate is very erratic," Sakura said. Akamaru hovered behind the two kunoichi, whining.

Sasuke spared a quick glance at Kiba, and then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a rogue spell coming towards him. He twisted, but then felt the spell hit his shoulder blade.

Shit.

Sakura's head popped him when she saw Sasuke fall heavily to the ground.

"Ino, take care of Sasuke!" Sakura said. She turned her attention back on Kiba, trying to calm herself, and tried to get herself to focus on the dog nin. "Alright Kiba, let's see if this wakes you up." Ino glanced up just in time to see Sakura raise her fist.

"Wait, Sakura –!"

WHAM!

Kiba choked and spluttered, his feral eyes opening, his fanged canine teeth revealed as his mouth opened to gasp in the lost air. Akamaru bounded forward and pinned Kiba down to the ground and began licking his face excitedly.

"Urgh, Akamaru, stop doing that," Kiba groaned, pushing away the large white head. He sat up, still trying to regain oxygen, and spotted Sakura grinning at him.

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty," she said. Kiba narrowed his already narrowed eyes at her. He would deal with the medic nin later.

"How's the fight?" Kiba asked. Sakura shrugged.

"I think Naruto, Gaara and Tenten have killed all ten of them," she said. She turned around when she heard Ino's panicked voice.

"Sakura! Sasuke – won't – stay still!"

Ino was holding Sasuke down, her face red with effort as the Uchiha thrashed wildly on the ground. Sasuke was yelling on the top of his lungs, clawing at his chest. His onyx eyes were crazed, his face twisted in pain.

"His chakra levels are fluctuating," Neji said. "You better hurry, though. For some reason, all his chakra is starting to drain out of him."

"What?" Sakura barked. She ran over to the pair. "Neji, what do you mean his chakra is draining away?"

"It seems like it leaking," Neji said. "It's hard to describe, but it's like there's a hole in his body. All the chakra is leaking away from there." He pointed to Sasuke's shoulder blade.

"It's where he got hit," Ino said. "Neji, help me pin him down!"

Blood red eyes lit up in the darkness. Sasuke's Sharingan activated itself.

"It's making even more chakra drain away," Neji said. "Sakura, use your chakra covered hand to cover the wound."

"I – what?" Sakura said. Neji huffed impatiently and tightened his grip on Sasuke's jerking legs.

"Do as I say," Neji said. "I think I know how to stop this. His tenketsu have been widened."

"What?" Sakura and Ino said simultaneously.

"The stupid Uchiha doesn't have time right now! Sakura, just press a chakra covered hand over his shoulder blade. His right one," Neji said, his voice almost snarling. Sakura obeyed immediately. Sasuke's lips were pulled back into a growl. It seemed as though he could not breathe properly.

Sasuke could feel burning fire streaking through his veins. A howl escaped his throat; it sounded like a pathetic animal. He wanted it to stop. He wanted the pain to stop. He jerked, but his limbs were being pinned; they weren't moving. Eventually, Sasuke became more tired, his energy was weakening.

_It feels like my chakra's draining away,_ Sasuke thought groggily. He didn't know how right he was. Sasuke couldn't see anything. The world around him was a mess of colours. He spotted some pink, some lemon-white, some pale lavender, but it was mostly just dark blue and black. He felt himself slipping away, and was almost prepared to accept it, when the sleepiness stopped abruptly. He dimly heard some shouting, but he could not make out the words.

"His chakra is stabilizing," Neji said. His Byakugan stared intently at the tenketsu holes. "Your chakra seems to be reverting his chakra points to normal size."

"Good."

* * *

><p>"In short, it seems as though that spell enlarged the tenketsu on his shoulder blade. It kind of... swelled up, but it did not block the chakra point, on the contrary, it made it even bigger. Abnormally big. All the chakra began escaping through that point, and if you did not use your chakra to heal it, he would have died of chakra loss," Neji finished.<p>

Sasuke, Sakura, Ino and Neji were in the Hospital Wing. Sasuke, after he came to his bearings, promptly passed out.

"He looks like an idiot, fainting all over the lawn like that," Neji said, glancing down at the limp figure of the Uchiha.

"Stop being an ass and take him to the Hospital Wing," Tenten said, appearing from the trees. Her kunai was bloody, but she was indifferent to the sticky substance that coated her fingers.

"What will we do with the bodies?" Gaara asked. Naruto shrugged.

"We'll ask Dumbledore if he can do some wand work to clean it up," Naruto asked. He then spotted Sasuke on the ground, and worry overcame his features.

"What happened to _teme_?" Naruto asked, hurrying forwards.

"He fainted," Gaara said bluntly. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"No shit," Naruto said. He then became gleeful.

"Ha! I wish I had a camera! Then I would take a picture and show Sasuke how much of a dumbass he looks right now!"

* * *

><p><strong>The reactions about the battle from the rest of the school will be in the next chapter. I'm too lazy to do it now.<strong>


	18. Task Number Two

**I am sooooo sleepy. Why did I even update this? Oh yeah, because a reader convinced me to.**

**The reviewers, I thank you very much: ****Rainbowlalaland****, ****Twisted Musalih****, ****kitsuneluvuh****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****Namikaze Soul****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****soprano-in-waiting****, ****MizzTroublezxx****, ****Kyuubi No Tenshi****, ****The Shadow Moon****, ****nightliliesu****, ****igottahavethatcupcake****, ****ladyyuuki16****, IDontWantToSig**

**C****hapter Eighteen: Task Number Two**

* * *

><p>"I fainted," Sasuke repeated, eyeing Naruto with a wary look on his face. The two of them were chatting in a corridor, having just bumped into each other during their rounds. Sasuke had made a full recovery after a good night's sleep.<p>

"Yah," Naruto said. His voice was happy, even more so than usual. "Wanna see proof?"

"No, I take your word for it," Sasuke said, but Naruto had already shoved a photo in his face.

"I borrowed the camera off this Creevey Colin boy," Naruto said, trying hard to keep the delight out of his face. "Well... I sort of _took_ it, but it's okay. I put it right back."

Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw that he was the prime focus of the photo. He was sprawled out in the Entrance Hall, where it was evident that Naruto and company had dumped him there to take a shot of him. Sasuke did not want to describe what he saw, because in truth, he looked like an idiot.

"Sasuke? What are you… wait! No – don't do that! IT'S JUST A PHOTO!"

There was a yell of, "KATON: GORYUKA NO JUTSU!" and a few shouts that sounded suspiciously like "SASUKE YOU BASTARD!"

The corridor was later blocked for refurbishment.

* * *

><p><em>~ By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes ~<em>.

"And all the enemies were defeated?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Yes," Naruto said. "It wasn't really that difficult. There were only ten of them."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Thank you for informing me."

Naruto was in Dumbledore's office, reporting the events that occurred last night. With him are Gaara and Sakura, who simply tagged along. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

"But didn't you hear the explosions?" Gaara asked curiously. Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course we did," he said, smiling in amusement. "Who wouldn't have noticed that racket? I simply stayed inside, knowing that you shinobi would take care of it. I was not disappointed."

"You, uh, disposed of the bodies, did you not?" Professor McGonagall asked. Naruto made a face.

"Um… not really," Naruto confessed, laughing sheepishly. "We didn't… uh… know where to put them."

"You mean there are dead bodies lying around on the grounds of Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall all but shrieked. Naruto half nodded, half shrugged.

"You little –" Naruto started to say, but was cut off when Dumbledore said.

"We put all the bodies in a pile," Sakura said defensively after she had gone, "deep in the Forest, where no student should really go. We just haven't disposed of them yet."

"I will go," said Dumbledore, "since Minerva is a little… ah, afr –"

"I am not afraid," Professor McGonagall said haughtily. "I will go and clean up as well."

With that, the headmaster and the deputy headmaster swept out of the office.

* * *

><p>"That spell that hit Sasuke..." Hinata said, "what do you think it was?"<p>

"Who knows," Shikamaru shrugged. "But it's okay, anyway. I'm sure that the Death Eater didn't know that that would happen. That information is not going to leak out."

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Time was an annoying thing. When you are bored, it crawls by at the pace of a snail. But when you're having fun, it rushes by in great leaps and jumps. But also when you are dreading something, time moves equally as fast.<p>

Harry, once again, had started to panic. He was finding it hard to concentrate in lessons. The lake, which Harry had always taken for granted as just another feature of the grounds, drew his eyes whenever he was near a classroom window, a great, iron-grey mass of chilly water who's dark and icy depths were starting to seem as distant as the moon.

Harry spent most of his free time in the library now with Ron and Hermione, researching ways to breathe underwater.

There was a week to go before the second of February (there was still time)… there were five days to go (he was bound to find something soon)… three days to go (please let me find something… _please_…).

With two days left, Harry started to go off food again. The only good thing about breakfast on Monday was the return of the brown owl he had sent to Sirius. He pulled off the parchment, unrolled it, and saw the shortest letter Sirius had ever written to him.

_Send date of next Hogsmeade weekend by return owl._

Harry turned the parchment over and looked at the back, hoping to see something else, but it was blank.

"The weekend in two weeks," whispered Hermione, who had read the note over Harry's shoulder. "Here – take my quill and send this owl back straight away."

Harry scribbled down the date on the back of Sirius' letter, tied it back onto the brown owl's leg, and watched it take flight again, a heavy feeling in his stomach.

None of the ninja had helped him with this clue at all, not they ever did, anyway. But what had he expected? They were shinobi, they were supposed to be here only to guard the school and him, they weren't friends or anything and the ninja really couldn't care less about the Triwizard Tournament.

"How is Potter-san going with figuring out how to breathe underwater?" Gaara asked quietly, his black-ringed eyes focused on the scarred boy sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Not good. I don't think he's found anything," Sakura sighed. Gaara brushed a hand over her cheek, but then withdrew it and sat down. That was all the affection Gaara could show at the time being.

"Tenten, you're watching Potter-san today," Naruto said, slurping up his ramen.

"Fine," Tenten said. Her sharp brown eyes zoomed around the Hall. "Potter-san doesn't look very good, does he?"

"Well, he must be a little bit stressed, what with the second task coming up and not having found anything," Naruto said vaguely.

"What am I supposed to do today, _dobe_?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm, well I dunno, _teme_, you can go check up on the second year Slytherins," Naruto said. "But don't try and barbeque them like you did with that corridor."

"Shut up."

"And Shikamaru, wake the hell up, you're gonna do some scouting around the Forbidden Forest today," Naruto said.

Shikamaru, who had fallen asleep in his pancakes, merely grunted. Naruto, knowing that the genius had heard him, didn't say anything more.

"Tenten, you should go, Potter-san and his friends are leaving for the lesson already," Hinata pointed out.

"Naruto, what class am I watching today?" Neji asked.

Ever since that night, Neji had kept a close eye on Mad-Eye Moody. He had never fully trusted the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and what he saw on the night that Harry had taken his midnight bath only strengthened his mistrust. So far, Moody hadn't done anything suspicious inside his office except boil some kind of potion and reach around into his chest. Neji disregarded this; he thought that it was a wizarding thing.

How wrong he was.

"Uh… go and watch the seventh year Gryffindors," Naruto said.

He continued assigning classes to everyone, even though all the students had already gone to their lessons.

* * *

><p>By the evening of the second task, Harry felt as though he was trapped in a nightmare. He was fully aware that even if, by some miracle, he managed to find a suitable spell, he'd have a real job mastering it overnight. How could he have let this happen? Why hadn't he got to work on the egg's clue sooner? Why had he ever let his mind wander in class – what if a teacher had once mentioned how to breathe underwater?<p>

He, Ron Hermione sat in the library as the sun set outside, tearing feverishly through page after page of spells, hidden from each other by the massive piles of books on the desk in front of each of them.

Hinata was sitting there as well; it was her turn to guard him. Everyone had gotten used to Harry being tailed by at least one guard, and they never brought up the topic of 'why does Potter have a bodyguard' again. They were too lazy to, and there were other, much juicier bits of rumours going around.

Hinata did not help them; she did not want to nor did she need to. She simply browsed through the library, picking out interesting books and scanning through them. It seemed that her favourite topic was ancient history.

_None of the books in here are going to help him,_ Hinata thought as she glanced at Harry. _And even if he did, he cannot possibly master it overnight, it's already so late._

Later on, Fred and George Weasley came into view, emerging from behind some bookshelves. Hinata guessed that they were here to collect Ron and Hermione, both of whom the teachers had decided that they would be a part of the second task.

"We're supposed to take you down to McGonagall's office," said George. "Don't know why though, she looked a bit grim."

Hinata stared blankly at them as they passed; both Ron and Hermione shot the guard suspicious looks, but Hinata's face gave nothing away.

By eight o'clock, Madam Pince had extinguished all the lamps and came to chivvy Harry and Hinata out of the library. Staggering under the weight of as many books as he could carry, and Hinata carrying a pile of her own, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room.

Hinata saw Sasuke sitting in front of the fire, an expressionless mask on his face, his aura cold, and Hinata left Harry there and returned to the Shinobi Quarters.

Harry stayed up in the common room all night, and sorted through the piles of books he and Hinata had carried back. He dearly wished he could get to the library so he could look up more spells, but he doubt Sasuke would let him wander around at night. Nevertheless, the piles of books kept him going all night… one in the morning… two in the morning… three in the morning…

* * *

><p>Sasuke gave an irritated sigh. Harry Potter was going to be late. It was already nine o'clock and he still hadn't woken up. Harry had fallen asleep in front of the fire, a large, heavy volume resting on his lap.<p>

"Potter-san…" Sasuke said.

"Potter-san."

"Potter-san!"

_Whack._

Sasuke had stood up and slapped him across the face, stinging his cheek. Harry awoke with a gasp, his glasses askew.

"What the hell was that for?" Harry said angrily, readjusting his glasses.

"It's already nine," Sasuke said tonelessly.

Before Harry could react, a resounding _crack_ echoed through the air, and Dobby the house elf appeared before him.

"Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby squeaked.

"Dobby?"

"Harry Potter needs to hurry!" Dobby said. "Harry Potter must save his Wheezy!"

"Uh… what?"

"Save his Wheezy! Harry Potter must save his Wheezy!"

"Save my what?"

" – and take his Wheezy back from the merpeople!"

"What's a Wheezy?"

"Your Wheezy, sir, your Wheezy – Wheezy who is giving Dobby his jumper!"

Dobby plucked the shrunken maroon sweater he was now wearing over his shorts.

Sasuke gave an impatient sigh.

"_What?_" Harry gasped. "They've got… they've got _Ron_?"

"The thing Harry Potter will miss most, sir!" squeaked Dobby. "And past an hour –"

" – '_the prospect's black'_," Harry recited, staring, horror struck, at the elf, "_'Too late, it's gone, it won't come back…_ Dobby, what've I got to do?"

"You has to eat this, sir!" squeaked the elf, and he put his hand in the pocket of his shorts and drew out a ball of what looked like slimy, greyish green rat tails. "Right before you go into the lake, sir – Gillyweed!"

"What's it do?" said Harry, staring at the Gillyweed.

"It will make Harry Potter breathe underwater, sir!"

"Hurry up," Sasuke said in a low voice. Dobby shot him a frightened look. "You have fifteen minutes."

Harry didn't have a chance to question Dobby about he Gillyweed; he shot out of the common room, yelling his good bye at Dobby, with Sasuke following close behind him.

Harry hurried through the Hall, which contained a few last minute stragglers.

As he ran down the lawn he saw that the seats that had encircled the dragons' enclosure in November were now ranged along the opposite bank, rising in stands that were packed to bursting point and reflected in the lake below; the excited babble of the crowd echoed strangely across the water as Harry and Sasuke ran around the other side of the lake towards the judges, who were sitting at another gold-draped table at the water's edge. Cedric, Fleur and Krum were beside the judges' table, watching Harry and Sasuke sprint towards them.

"Five minutes to go," Sasuke murmured as Harry slid to a stop, holding his sides and panting for air. Despite Sasuke running at the same pace as him, the guard didn't look remotely tired.

"Why so late, Potter-san?" Naruto asked, coming towards them.

"The idiot overslept and Dobby the house elf gave him some Gillyweed when he woke up, resulting in a tedious explanation, that basically summarised the fact that Weasley-san was taken hostage at the bottom of the lake," Sasuke muttered in one breath to his captain.

"So Potter-san never did find anything, did he?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"Where's Sakura, Kiba, Hinata and Shikamaru?" he asked, noticing that while the rest of the guards were stationed around the lake, those four were missing.

"At the bottom," Naruto said, referring to the lake, "Dumbledore-san gave them something so they could breathe underwater. "Kiba's gonna be following Harry at a distance to make sure nothing life-threatening happens to him on his way down. Hinata will just be a general guard."

Akamaru paced at the water's edge, worried for his master and friend. Ino, who was with him, patted his head consolingly.

Naruto ran across the lake to talk to Gaara, who was on the other side, resulting in gasps from the watching crowd as the blonde walked expertly on top of the water.

_It's starting,_ Sasuke thought to himself as he saw Bagman point his wand to his throat.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle." Bagman boomed. "They have precisely one hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One… two… _three_!"

The whistle echoed shrilly into the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; without looking to see what the other champions were doing, Harry pulled off his shoes and socks, pulled a handful of Gillyweed out of his pocket stuffed it into his mouth and waded out into the lake.

"Take care, Potter-san," Naruto mumbled as he passed Harry. The boy nodded at him, and went deeper into the lake.

The lake was so cold he felt the skin on his legs searing as though it was on fire, not icy water. His sodden robes weighed him down as he walked in deeper; now the water was over his knees, and his rapidly numbing feet were slipping over silt and flat, slimy stones. He was chewing the Gillyweed as hard and fast as he could; it felt unpleasantly slimy and rubbery.

He swallowed, and waited for something to happen. There was laughter and boos from the crowd. Harry ignored them. He waited… and waited… until suddenly, it seemed as though an invisible pillow had been clapped over his mouth and nose. He tried to draw breath, but it made his head spin; his lungs were empty, and he suddenly felt a piercing pain on either side of his neck.

Harry clapped his hands around his throat, and felt two large slits just below his ears; flapping in the cold air… _he had gills._ Without pausing to think, he did the only thing that made sense – he flung himself forwards into the water.

_Wow,_ Kiba thought as he floated in the water, _Potter-san has really outdone himself. He has gills._

Kiba swam in the water, a Bubble-Head Charm enabling him to breathe, cast by Dumbledore. Dumbledore also cast a spell that would keep him warm in the freezing water.

_Alright, let's go,_ Kiba thought. Harry noticed him, and they both nodded at each other, then Harry swam forwards, putting the ninja out of his mind.

As Harry swam, Kiba noticed a movement in a clump of weeds. Then, a small thing shot out and grabbed Harry on the leg.

It was a Grindylow, a small, horned water demon. Kiba had heard of them from Dumbledore. Kiba did not help Harry, knowing that the boy could fend for himself.

The Grindylows spotted Kiba, but for some reason did not attempt to drag him down. Perhaps it was the dangerous aura he was emitting, the one that spelled death if you came too close.

Harry pelted them with jets of boiling water, and when he kicked a Grindylow in the head, the others finally retreated.

Harry met Moaning Myrtle in the lake, and she pointed him in the right direction.

Harry swam faster, hearing the song that the merfolk were singing.

'_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took…'_

Harry swam faster, and soon he and Kiba saw a large rock emerge out of the muddy water ahead. It had paintings of merpeople in it; they were carrying spears, and chasing what looked like the giant squid. Harry swam past the rock, following the mer-song.

'… _your time's half-gone, so tarry not_

_Les what you seek stays here to rot…'_

A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there at the dark windows, Harry saw faces… faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the Prefects' bathroom…

The merpeople had greyish skins and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They leered at Harry as he swam past, ignoring Kiba; one or two of them emerged from their caves to watch him better, their powerful, silver fishtails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.

_Kisame would have been at home here,_ Kiba thought dryly, _then again, he'll probably kill them all._

The dwellings became more numerous; there were gardens of weed around some of them, and even pet Grindylows were tied to states outside doors. Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching the pair eagerly, pointing at his webbed hands and gills, talking behind their hands to each other. Kiba sped around a corner after Harry, and a very strange sight met his eyes.

A whole crowd of merpeople were floating of houses that lined what looked like a mer-version of a village square. A choir of merpeople were singing in the middle, calling the champions towards them, and behind them rose a crude sort of statue; a gigantic merperson hewn from a boulder. Four people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson.

Ron was tied between Hermione and Cho Chang. There was also a girl who looked no older than eight, whose clouds of silvery hair made Kiba sure that she was Fleur Delacour's sister. All four of them seemed to be in a very deep sleep. Their heads were lolling onto their shoulders, and fine streams of bubbles kept issuing from their mouths.

Sakura and Shikamaru were floating beside the hostages. They also had a Bubble-Head Charm placed on them. The pink haired girl grinned when they saw Kiba, who waved back.

While Harry found something to set the hostages free, Kiba drifted over to Sakura and Shikamaru.

'_How's it going?'_ Kiba mouthed to them. Sakura shrugged.

'_Okay, though the fish people kinda scare me,'_ she mouthed back.

'_Troublesome,'_ Shikamaru mouthed, looking disgruntled.

Harry was now fighting with the merpeople. He wanted to take both Ron and Hermione, but the merfolk wouldn't let him.

'_He does know that Dumbledore won't let the others die… doesn't he?'_ Kiba mouthed to Sakura. She shrugged in reply.

The merpeople started pointing excitedly, and Cedric Diggory came into view. He took Cho and left. Harry was left staring around looking for Krum.

The merfolk, again, started screeching excitedly. A human body in swimming trunks… with the head of a shark… was Krum. Krum took Hermione, and without a backwards glance swam back up. Kiba didn't like the look of him; he reminded him too much of Kisame.

_The idiot,_ Kiba thought as Harry waited for Fleur, and when she didn't come, he took her sister. _He actually took the mersong seriously._

He, Sakura and Shikamaru swam up behind Harry, and the merpeople accompanied them as well. As they neared the surface, Kiba noticed that Harry's fins were shrinking, his gills disappearing. He nudged Sakura and Shikamaru and jerked his head towards Harry.

"_He's near the surface,"_ Shikamaru mouthed. _"He'll be fine."_

Kiba swam next to a merman, and Kiba grinned at him. The merman smiled back, and Kiba hesitantly held out his hand. He had seen the wizards' strange custom of shaking hands with people, and decided to try it out with the merman. The merman looked surprised, but after hesitating for a few seconds, he took it. Slowly, they lifted their hands up and down.

_Strange,_ Kiba mused, _that I would make friends with a half man half fish._

Just as they were about to let go, the merman started shrieking terribly. His yellow eyes started to pop. He jerked his arm out of Kiba's and started clawing at his sides. A half crazed, pained expression was on the merman's face.

_Uh oh,_ Kiba thought. _What did I do now?_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."<strong>_** Quote from William Shakespeare's play **_**Macbeth**_**, from Act Four Scene 1.**


	19. Something New

**My deepest apologies, my dear readers! As most of you would have noticed, I confuddled all of you when ****Umbridge randomly entered the scene last chapter. I am so sorry; I had just finished writing a part in 'To Be Different' (my other crossover), which is set in the fifth book and has Umbridge, and then I went over to 'Broken Wings' and I completely forgot that it was set in the fourth book and therefore DOES NOT include Umbridge.**

**Everyone kept saying they didn't understand the 'bit about Umbridge', but I thought, "Oh, maybe ****the way she entered the scene was too random or something" and I didn't get it until a reviewer (****InuSarah-sama****) wrote, "I have a question. If both Moody and Umbridge are in this, who is the Defen[c]e Teacher and what is the other one doing?" and then the light bulb in my head turned on.**

**Again, I am very sorry for the confusion.**

**Thank you to the reviewers: ****The Shadow Moon****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****wunsleh****, ****Kyuubi No Tenshi****, ****UgunsGreka Fans****, ****Furionknight****, ****drinkwaterkora****, ****inunarubleachfan14****, ****nightliliesu****, ****Spider's Thread****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****TheFabulousLMH****, ****InuSarah-sama****, ****JayneParker****, ****SasuHina4evr**** and ****igottahavethatcupcake**

**Chapter ****Nineteen: Something New**

* * *

><p>"She said you cursed him," Dumbledore said quietly.<p>

"I did not!" Kiba said indignantly. "I don't know what happened, but I did not curse him."

The shinobi were in Dumbledore's office. It was merely half an hour since the end of the Second Task. After the merman had started screaming¸ the Merchieftainess had pushed Kiba out of the way and brought the merman to the surface. Two mermen had taken Kiba by the arms and forced him up as well. After fifteen minutes of confused shouting, screeching and angry insults, Dumbledore had gotten the gist of what had happened and had taken Kiba, Sakura, Shikamaru and Naruto up to his office.

"What did you two see?" Dumbledore asked, turning to Sakura and Shikamaru. The two of them shrugged.

"All I saw was Kiba offering his hand to the fish man, and after the fish man took it, he started shouting," Sakura said.

"I wanted to try something that I always see you wizards do," Kiba muttered sullenly. "I wanted to try shaking hands."

"What did the Merchieftainess say?" Naruto asked. Dumbledore grimaced.

"She… wants Kiba gone," Dumbledore said. Silence stretched between them.

"Have any of you thought… that this might be a frame?" Shikamaru finally asked lazily.

"Oh?" Dumbledore said, "Do tell."

"The signs that the merman was emitting: the screaming, the yelling, the obvious pain he was in, reminds me of the Cruciatus Curse," Shikamaru began. "This is merely my hypothesis, but it seems to me that someone on the surface put the Cruciatus Cruse on the merman just as Kiba shook his hand, making it look as though Kiba did something to him. The person who cursed the merman must also have known that the Merchieftainess would have ordered Kiba to be sent away."

"So the person who cursed the merman wanted a shinobi gone," Sakura realised. Shikamaru nodded.

"Precisely," Shikamaru said.

"It's happened before," Naruto murmured, "when someone's tried to get rid of us."

The ninja were reminded vividly of Hermione under the Imperius Curse, the poison that Neji drank…

"So _are_ you going to send me home?" Kiba asked sheepishly. Dumbledore shook his head.

"No. This was just a misunderstanding," Dumbledore said, "although your theory," he looked at Shikamaru, "is quite plausible."

The genius shrugged. "Shinobi are trained to be suspicious, and it's better to think of the worst case scenario, anyway."

* * *

><p>There was a knock on the dungeon door.<p>

"Enter," said Snape.

The class looked around as the door opened. Professor Karkaroff came in. everyone watched him as he walked up towards Snape's desk. He was twisting his finger around his goatee again, and looking agitated.

"We need to talk," said Karkaroff abruptly, when he had reached Snape. He seemed so determined that nobody should hear what he was saying that he was barely opening his lips; it was as though he was a rather poor ventriloquist. This, of course, caught the interest of Hinata, who, instead of sitting at the back of the class like the ninja normally did, was sitting by Harry's side.

"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff –" Snape muttered, but Karkaroff interrupted him.

"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me."

"After the lesson," Snape snapped.

Hinata saw Harry giving the two teachers a subtle peek as he held up a measuring cup filled with armadillo bile. Karkaroff looked extremely worried, and Snape looked angry.

Karkaroff hovered behind Snape's desk for the rest of the double period. He seemed intent on preventing Snape slipping away at the end of class.

Hinata sighed inwardly as she saw Harry purposely knock over his bottle of armadillo bile with two minutes to go to the bell, which gave him an excuse to duck down behind his cauldron and mop up while the rest of the class moved noisily towards the door.

No matter. Hinata wanted to hear what was going on as well, and so she pretended to walk towards the door as well. After making sure no one was paying attention to her, she slipped up the wall and stuck towards the ceiling.

"What's so urgent," she heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff. From her view from the ceiling, Hinata saw Harry crouching behind his cauldron, listening hard.

"_This_," said Karkaroff, and Hinata (and Harry) saw Karkaroff pull up the left-hand sleeve of his robe, and show Snape something on his inner arm. While Harry may not have seen it, Hinata certainly did. It was the Dark Mark, proof that Karkaroff really was a Death Eater.

"Well?" said Karkaroff, still making every effort not to move his lips. "DO you see? It's never been this clear, never since – "

"Put it away," snarled Snape, his black eyes sweeping the classroom.

"But you must have noticed – " Karkaroff began in an agitated voice.

"We can talk later, Karkaroff," spat Snape. "Potter! What are you doing?"

"Clearing up my armadillo bile, Professor," said Harry innocently, straightening up and showing Snape the sodden rag he was holding.

Karkaroff turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeon. He looked both worried and angry. Not wanting to remain alone with an exceptionally angry Snape, Harry threw his books and ingredients back into his bag, and left at top speed to tell Ron and Hermione what he had witnessed.

Far above him, Hinata was thinking deeply, and contemplating what she had just seen.

* * *

><p>"Black-san," Kiba said, grinning. He, Akamaru, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in Hogsmeade, and Sirius, in his dog form, had led them up a mountain and into a cave to talk.<p>

Sirius was wearing ragged grey robes; the same ones he had been wearing when he had left Azkaban. His black hair was longer than it had been when he had appeared in the dire, and it was untidy and matter once more. He looked very thin.

"Hey, Kiba," Sirius smiled, "and Akamaru, of course." The huge white canine barked happily. He turned to his godson.

"Chicken!" he said hoarsely, after removing the old _Daily Prophets_ he had been carrying in his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor.

Harry, who had snuck in a dozen chick legs, a loaf of bread and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table, handed the bundle of food over to him.

"Thanks," Sirius said, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself."

He grinned up at Harry, but Harry returned the grin only reluctantly. Kiba sat down, a ways away from the group, far enough to give them enough privacy, but also close enough to listen to what they had to say.

"What're you doing here, Sirius?" he said.

"Fulfilling my duty as a godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very dog-like way. "Don't worry about me, I'm pretending to be a loveable stray."

He was still grinning, but seeing the anxiety in Harry's face, said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter… well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."

He nodded the yellowing _Daily Prophets_ on the cave floor, and Ron and Kiba picked them up and unfolded them.

Harry, however, continued to stare at Sirius. "What if they catch you? What if you're seen?"

"You three and Dumbledore are the only ones round here who know I'm an Animagus," said Sirius, shrugging, and continuing to devour the chicken leg.

Ron nudged Harry, and passed him the _Daily Prophet._ Kiba threw his copy over as well. There were two; the first bore the headline _Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch_, the second, _Ministry Witch Still Missing – Minister for Magic Now Personally Involved._

Harry looked down at the story about Crouch. Phrases jumped out at him: _hasn't been seen in public ever since November… house appears deserted… St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies decline comment… Ministry refused to confirm rumours of critical illness…_

"They make it sound like he's dying," said Harry slowly. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here…"

"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Ron informed Sirius. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork."

"Mind you, he _did_ look ill, last time I saw him up close," said Harry slowly, still reading the story. "The night my name came out of the Goblet…"

"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Hermione coldly. She was stroking Buckbeak, who was crunching up Sirius' chicken bones. "I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now – bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him."

"Hermione's obsessed with house elves," Ron muttered to Sirius, casting Hermione a dark look.

Sirius, however, looked interested. "Crouch sacked his house elf?"

Kiba straightened up; he hadn't heard about this before.

"Yeah, at the Quidditch World Cup," said Harry, and he launched into the story of the Dark Mark's appearance, and Winky being found with Harry's wand clutched in her hand, and Mr Crouch's fury.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a similar fashion. Story, then question and answer, and then more questions. Kiba sighed silently and looked towards the sky.

"Sorry," Kiba said, "but we're going to have to get going now. It's getting late."

Kiba trailed behind the foursome as they walked towards the castle, Sirius in his dog form again. He patted Akamaru's head absently, and the cogs in his brain started working. The four of them had revealed some very interesting information, mainly about Crouch. It could come in useful.

* * *

><p>The start of the summer term would normally have meant that Harry was training hard for the last Quidditch match of the season. This year, however, it was the third and final task in the Triwizard Tournament for which he need to prepare, but he still didn't know what he would have to do. Finally, in the last week of May, Professor McGonagall held him back in Transfiguration.<p>

"You are to go down to the Quidditch pitch tonight at nine o'clock, Potter," she told him. "Mr Bagman will be there to tell the champions about the third task."

"It'll be fun," Ino chirped, who was the one guarding him that day. Harry flashed her a weak smile and proceeded out of the classroom.

So at half past eight that night, Harry left Ron and Hermione in Gryffindor Tower, and went downstairs with Ino. As he crossed the Entrance Hall, Cedric came up from the Hufflepuff common room.

"What d'you reckon it's going to be?" he asked Harry, as they went together down the stone steps, out into the cloudy night. "Fleur keeps going on about undergrown tunnels; she reckons we've got to find treasure."

"That wouldn't be too bad," said Harry. Ino, who had been walking behind them, smiled a little at the pair. She would be glad when this tournament was over. Her friends' lives had been in danger a lot of times already, but this was what it was like in a mission.

They walked down to the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stands, and walked out onto the pitch.

"What've they done to it?" Cedric asked indignantly, stopping dead.

The Quidditch pitch was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been uilding long, low walls all over it, twisting and criss-crossing in every direction.

"They're hedges!" said Harry, bending to examine the nearest one.

"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the pitch with Krum and Fleur. Harry, Cedric and Ino made their way towards them, climbing over the hedges. Fleur beamed at Harry as he came nearer. Her attitude towards him had changed completely since he had pulled her sister out of the lake.

"Well, what d'you think?" said Bagman happily, as Harry and Cedric climbed over the last hedge. Ino flitted over to stand beside them. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them high enough. Don't worry," he added grinning, spotting the less-than-happy expressions on Harry and Cedric's faces, "you'll have your Quidditch pitch back to normal once the task is over. Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

No one spoke for a moment. Then –

"Maze," grunted Krum.

"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the centre of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.

"There will be obstacles," said bagman happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures… then there will be spells that must be broken… all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champions who are leading on the points will get a head start into the maze." Bagman grinned at Harry and Cedric. "Then Mr Krum will enter… then Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending on how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"

Harry suddenly noticed Ino grinning madly. Her eyes gleamed with delight, and then she stepped forward.

_Uh oh,_ Harry thought as he stared at the happy blonde kunoichi. He knew that look very well. He often saw it on Naruto when the ANBU captain was up to no good.

"Ah yes, but there is a condition," Bagman said, smiling at the ninja. "Miss Yamanaka will explain." The four champions then shifted their attention to Ino.

"Before you do the Third Task," Ino began, "we have decided that you must pass a mini-task to get to the final one."

She paused and let that piece of information sink in. "The mini-task will take place two weeks from now. It will be a duel."

_Who against?_ Harry thought. A nasty thought wormed its way into Harry mind. _Oh no, surely not…_

"The mini-task involves fighting us," Ino declared. "It will be a duel between a champion and a ninja, all separate. We will decide whether or not you four pass the mini-task. If you do, then you're allowed to do the Third Task. If you fail, then you're out of the competition."

The four champions could only gape at her in shock.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was crappy, I know. I have an excuse, though (somewhat<strong>**). I was typing this without my glasses (they went missing... I think my mum stole them to get them replaced). Yes, I wear glasses. I can see without them, but I'm more comfortable with them on, especially while I'm reading or looking at the whiteboard. I was half blind when I was writing this, so the quality may not be good and there may be grammar mistakes. I pretty much forced myself to write this chapter, mainly because my eyes were straining to see what I was writing, and also because I really want to get this chappy over and done with because there are so many other parts of the story that I really, really want to work on but I can't because it's not here yet D: When I have time, I'll come back and edit this T^T**

**Ehehe. ****The champions have to do a mini-task. The mini-task idea was (once again) suggested by Lord Claw. I made up what the mini-task was going to be about, though, and I chose a duel between wizard and ninja! Muhwahaha. **

**Anyway, a question about the**** current Naruto manga, the Fourth Shinobi World War [may contain spoilers, I don't know]: Sasuke took Itachi's eyes from his corpse, yes? So how is Itachi using his eyes now when he was resurrected by Kabuto?**


	20. The Mini Task

**Ah, thank you very much to the reviewers who answered my question in the previous chapter. Makes me happy that some people actually read my Author's Notes. **

**[Spoiler to the War arc] ****The reason is that ****The Edo Tensei requires a genetic sample and their soul to reside in the pure world for the jutsu to resurrect the target. The body of the sacrifice is destroyed and reconstituted into the resurrection target. The condition of the original body is unimportant. So Itachi's eyeless corpse is still where Madara left it while the resurrected Itachi is running around. (Yeah, I just copied that from the review) Thanks** **to (****Dead End v1****) who told me this (first).**

**I tried my best at mimicking Fleur**** and Krum's accent, but please forgive me if I stuff it up!**

**The reviewers: ****The Shadow Moon****, ****SharpShooterRizaHawkeye****, ****Phr33k****, ****Silver-Squirrel****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****Dead End v1****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****EgyLynx****, ****soprano-in-waiting****, ****CJWrites****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****inunarubleachfan14****, ****Furionknight****, ****Dimensional Roamer****, Ichigo's lover 1996, ****drinkwaterkora****, ****Digman14****, ****SasuHina4evr****, ****Ochibi and Urufu****, spider's thread, ****JayneParker****, ****HinataWeasley789**** and ****verohey5**

**Special thanks for Verohey5 for reviewing almost every chapter!**

**Chapter Twenty:**** The Mini-Task**

* * *

><p><em>A…<em>_ duel, _Harry thought numbly. _A duel between the ninja … a duel…_

"That is not a mini-task!" Diggory suddenly yelled. "That is not a _mini-task_!"

"That's a freaking HUGE task!" Harry found himself shouting as well. Ino shrugged.

"Captain's orders," she said cheerfully, "can't go against them. Ninja rules, you know?"

"But… but… zat is not fair at all!" Fleur protested. "You are talking about ze guards fighting against ze champions, no?"

"The difference is too different," Krum muttered. He glared at Ino from underneath his eyebrows. Ino put a finger to her chin, thinking hard. Or, well, at least she was pretending too.

"Nup, sorry, can't do anything," Ino smiled. "I am merely relaying what Naruto has said to me. I cannot change it."

"But ze difference in strength and stamina!" Fleur said, "It iz too hard." Ino's pretty face darkened and her eyes became cynical.

"Are you not champions?" she asked. "That Goblet, though I have no idea how it works, chose you four for a reason. It chose you guys out of hundreds of others, maybe because you have the will and strength to work through the three tasks the judges will and has given you? This mini-task is nothing, merely an obstacle to what you all want: The Triwizard Cup, though I have no idea what's so special about it." Ino muttered the last part.

"You all could at least _try_ before complaining like children," said a very familiar, very happy (too happy, if you asked the champions) voice that came from behind Cedric. The champions, though they were already used to it, could not stop the way they all jumped about a metre into a air when they heard Naruto's voice.

"Captain," Ino said. "I'll leave all the talking to you now, shall I? After all, you _are_ a motor-mouth."

"Ah shut up, Ino," Naruto said. He stepped out from behind Cedric and joined Ino, placing his hands on his hips.

"Hm, I'm here for a reason, you know," Naruto said. He scratched his blonde head and stared at Harry, Cedric, Krum and Fleur. "I'm thinking that what I suggested is a little harsh."

_Thank god,_ Harry thought, relief washing over him. _Naruto's going to change it._

"Instead of battling us individually, you're all going to fight me at the same time!" Naruto said. He flashed them all a blindingly white grin.

"Eh? You're taking us out of action?" Ino said. "But the others are looking forward to this!"

"If they do this, then I'll organise an every-man-for-himself battle this weekend in the Forbidden Forest as exercise," Naruto said. Ino's face lit up immediately, and she said, "Deal."

_What kind of exercise do these ninja do?_ Harry thought in despair. But then his outlook brightened considerably as he thought about what Naruto had said about the mini-task.

"Seems like better idea," Krum said. "At least vee vill haff a fighting chance."

Harry resisted the urge to laugh hysterically.

_A fighting chance?_ Harry immediately started to get depressed again, now that he had remembered how the ninja fought. _We have as much fighting chance as a couple of squirrels trying to battle against an elephant. We'll annoy Naruto, but we won't win against him._

"Yeah, we have to work together. If we do, then we can take him down," Cedric said, trying to get into a pep talk. Harry started feeling the first tendrils of panic flaring inside him.

_We're gonna die!_

"I think you guys are forgetting," Harry said slowly, "that these are the _ninja_ we're talking about."

"So?" Fleur said. Harry, again, felt the strange urge to laugh hysterically.

_I think I'm going crazy because of the stress,_ Harry thought.

"Uh, _ninja_," Harry said, stressing out the word, "who came from another land and use different types of magic."

"And…?" Cedric pressed. Harry huffed.

"He's gonna slaughter us!" Harry said, pointing a finger to a surprised Naruto, who hadn't been listening to anything the champions had said because he had been holding a conversation with Ino.

"Ne, Potter-san," Naruto said, grinning, "Since when did you became so negative?"

"Since I found out that we're fighting against you," Harry said. Naruto shrugged.

"So?"

"Well, you ninja are obviously stronger than us," Harry said. Naruto shook his head.

"Well, our jutsu are stronger than your magic, but I'm pretty sure that it's quite possible for a wizard to beat a ninja in a fight," Naruto said.

"Really?" Harry said hopefully.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled, "you just have to find a ninja who's injured, lost a lot of blood, have little to no chakra and who's weak enough to not attack you."

The hope that had blossomed in Harry's heart withered.

"I'm not going to find a ninja like that!" Harry all but yelled. Naruto chuckled.

"Just kidding," Naruto said. "No, but I'm serious this time. It _is_ possible for a wizard to best a ninja in a duel."

"Hey Harry," Cedric said. "Do you want to meet up tomorrow to discuss strategies?"

"That's the spirit," Ino said. "Have fun finding spells. Go wild!"

The kunoichi and the ANBU captain waved goodbye, and then body flickered back to the castle. Harry suddenly noticed that it had become quite dark, and, as the group of champions started to disperse, he made to head towards the castle as well.

"Wait," Krum said, seizing Harry's arm. He was surprisingly strong. "Could I haff a word?"

"Yeah, all right," said Harry, slightly surprised.

"Vill you valk with me?"

"Okay," said Harry curiously.

The two of them headed towards the Forbidden Forest, instead of the Durmstrang ship, which mounted Harry's curiosity even more. When asked, Krum simply said that he didn't want to be overheard.

They reached a quiet stretch of ground, a short way away from the Beauxbatons carriage, in the shade of the trees, and Krum finally turned towards Harry.

"I vant to know," he said, glowering, "vot there is between you and Herm-own-ninny."

Harry, staring up at Krum in amazement, again, felt a strange urge to laugh, but not because he was stressing; it was genuinely funny. He thought that from Krum's secretive manner, he had expected something much more serious.

"Nothing," Harry said, "we're friends. She's not my girlfriend and she never has been. It's just that Skeeter woman making things up."

"Herm-own-ninny talks about you very often," said Krum, looking suspiciously at Harry.

"Yeah," said Harry, "because we're _friends_."

He couldn't quite believe he was having this conversation with Viktor Krum, the famous international Quidditch player. It someone made Krum seem more… boyish? More of a teenager rather than a star.

"You haff never… you haff not…"

"No," said Harry firmly.

Krum looked slightly happier; he was no longer slouching. He stared at Harry for a few seconds, then said, "You fly very well. I vos votching at the first task."

"Thanks," said Harry, grinning broadly, "I saw you at the Quidditch World Cup. The Wronski Feint, you really –"

But something moved behind Krum in the trees, and Harry, who had some experience of the sort of thing that lurked in the Forest, instinctively grabbed Krum's arm and pulled him around.

"Vot is it?"

* * *

><p>Naruto whirled around, unease prickling at his spine. He looked out of the doors of the Great Hall, his eyes worriedly scanning the area.<p>

"Captain?" Neji said.

"Has Potter-san come back yet?" Naruto asked. Neji shook his head. The unease grew.

"I'm going to go look for him," Naruto said, "he should be back by now."

"_Hai."_

Naruto sprinted out of the Hall and down to where he last saw the champions. They weren't there. Naruto glanced around, and he saw a few shadows moving around in the darkness near the Forbidden Forest. That's where Naruto hurried off to next.

"Dumbledore!" gasped a figure. The figure was clutching the front of someone's robes, who Naruto identified as Harry. Beside him was Krum, looking down at the man with wide eyes. On closer inspection, Naruto realised that it was Mr Couch, one of the judges for the Tournament.

"I need… see… Dumbledore…"

"Potter-san!" Naruto barked out. Harry spun his head around, and relief filled his face when he saw the ninja. "What's going on?"

"Naruto," Harry said. He gestured towards Mr Crouch. "I don't know what's he's doing here. He just came out of the Forest and –"

Naruto cut him off and strode forwards. He yanked Mr Crouch's grip off Harry's robes and the man stumbled.

"I've done… stupid… thing…" Mr Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spittle was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must… tell… Dumbledore…"

"Crouch-san," Naruto said, loudly and clearly, "please get –"

The ninja froze. He turned around slowly, and putting his fingers into a hand sign, muttered, _"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."_

Two Naruto clones appeared and they each stood beside Krum and Harry, taking a stance that reminded Harry vividly of bodyguards.

"Vot is the matter?" Krum asked. Naruto shook his head, his sharp eyes focused on the spot behind Harry's shoulder.

"I don't know," Naruto muttered, "I just thought I heard something." Beside him, Crouch was still mumbling incoherently.

"You're not… _his_?" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging. His legs seemed to buckle. "Warn… Dumbledore…"

"Harry, Krum-san," Naruto said slowly. Harry suddenly realised that this was the first time Naruto had called him by his first name. "Please go up to the castle with my clones and report this to Dumbledore. Now_._"

Shakily, Harry began to run towards the castle, Krum shadowing his heels and the two clones following them. When Naruto was alone with the crazed man, the ninja began to slide a hand down his side and into his shuriken pouch.

"I know you're there," Naruto said loudly. "Stop hiding and come out here."

"I… escaped… must warn… must tell… see Dumbledore… my fault… all my fault… Bertha… dead… all my fault… my son… my fault… tell Dumbledore… Harry Potter… the Dark Lord… stronger… Harry Potter…"

"What? What about Harry?"

Naruto, distracted by the contents of the words Crouch spewed, could not dodge the Stunning spell in time, and the ANBU captain slumped down to the Forest ground.

* * *

><p>"<em>Lumos<em>," Dumbledore said, lighting his wand and holding it up. "Mr Uzumaki!"

"Vhere is he?" Krum asked, peering around the tree trunks.

"He was definitely here, Professor," Harry gasped. His dread had grown when, as he reached the Great Hall, the Naruto clones that had accompanied him and Krum had disappeared with a _poof_.

He had a stitch in his side, and he held it as he searched. The light's narrow beam travelled from black trunk to black trunk, illuminating the ground. And then it fell upon a pair of feet. Harry, Krum and Dumbledore hurried forwards. Naruto was sprawled on the Forest floor. He seemed to be unconscious. There was no sign at all of Mr Crouch. Dumbledore bent over Naruto and gently lifted one of his eyelids.

"Stunned," he said softly. Dumbledore pressed the radio near Naruto's neck and swiftly called all the ninja to the Forbidden Forest. He pointed his wand at him and muttered, "_Enervate._"

Naruto opened his eyes, and then shot up. Dumbledore managed to avoid getting hit.

"Dumbledore-san!" Naruto said. He spotted Harry and Krum. "Harry! Krum-san!"

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked urgently. Naruto shook his head.

"There was someone in the trees," Naruto said, "although I couldn't sense him properly. I think he was using magic to hide himself. Crouch-san was mumbling something about the Dark Lord getting stronger, someone named Bertha being a dead, and he said Harry's name quite a lot as well. I got distracted by that, and the person in the trees managed to hit me with a Stunning spell."

"Captain!"

Sakura was the first one to arrive. Worry was clear in her eyes, and it grew when she saw Naruto on the ground.

"Sakura, Miss Haruno," Dumbledore said.

"Sakura's fine," she said.

"Sakura," Dumbledore repeated, "may I please ask you to bring Professor Moody down here?"

The kunoichi nodded and was about to go, when a voice rang out, "No need, Dumbledore."

Moody was limping towards them, leaning on his staff, his wand lit.

"Damn leg," he said furiously. "Would've been here quicker… what's happened? Snape said something about Crouch –"

"I don't know where Barty Crouch is," Dumbledore told Moody, "but it is essential that we find him."

"I'm onto it," growled Moody, and he raised his wand, an limped off into the Forest.

"Captain!"

The other ninja had arrived, and all of them frowned at what they saw.

"I'm fine," Naruto said. He got to his feet and glanced over at the two champions. "Are you two alright?"

"Yes," Krum and Harry said. Dumbledore turned to the two of them.

"Naruto, please take Krum and Harry to their respective sleeping quarters," Dumbledore said. Naruto nodded. "Harry, whatever owls you want to send, anything like that, can wait till morning." The boy nodded. "Naruto will fill you all in when you get back to your own common room," Dumbledore added to the waiting ninja.

* * *

><p>"I don't know what he was doing there though," Naruto muttered. He ran a hand through his hair and stared at his friends.<p>

"From what you have told us, Crouch-san seemed sanest when he was talking about Voldemort," Hinata said quietly.

"The rest… doesn't make any sense at all. Why would he be talking to this… Weatherby?" Shikamaru said. He frowned and muttered, "Troublesome."

All of the ninja were seated in the Ninja Common Room. Naruto had sent off some clones to do the guarding; this meeting was important.

"All this… it's getting complicated," Kiba said.

"Yes, more than your idiot brain can handle," Ino said, without missing a beat.

"Hey!"

That broke the tension, though, and before long, they were all laughing.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me?" Cedric said. Tenten glanced up, and smiled at him.<p>

"Good morning," Tenten said cheerfully. It was the morning after Crouch had disappeared, and Tenten was out by the lake, absent-mindedly sharpening his weapons. "What brings you here?"

"It's about the mini-task," Cedric said. He looked nervous; he was wringing his hands behind his back, and his lips were being bitten.

"Yeah?" Tenten put her weapons aside and turned her full attention towards him.

"What will you be looking for in the task?" Cedric said. "Swan, I mean, Ino, said that the ninja will decide who will pass, but what are we supposed to do?"

"Ah," Tenten said, and she planted her palm behind her back and stared up at the sky. "Well, we will be looking for many things. There's a lot to name, you know."

"But, do we have to win?" Cedric asked. There was a touch of desperation to his voice. Tenten smiled.

"Maybe, maybe not," Tenten said. "But I'll give you a clue."

Cedric nodded eagerly and leaned in.

"Overwhelm Naruto," Tenten said, "and us. Surprise us by showing us what you and the other champions are capable of."

"But… Krum and Fleur are from different schools," Cedric said, "and they don't speak English very well. We're supposed to work together, right? But what will we do if we all have different opinions and stuff?"

Tenten shrugged. "So? Just because you're from different schools, it doesn't mean that it's impossible to work together. In the Fourth Shinobi World War, five different nations had to work together. That meant five different Hidden Villages. Each Village has different customs and beliefs, and though that sometimes got in the way, we managed to defeat the enemy, because we all had a common goal."

"But, that's different," Cedric sighed. "That… war seemed very important. Here, we're just winning for the fame."

"Is that really what you think?" Tenten asked. "Sure, it's a trophy, but the fact that you all survived this far is because you _all_ want that Cup and that fame… and you all want to live," she muttered that last part, "and it may be a different, more selfish goal than what our goal in the war was, but still, it's a goal. Besides, it's only four people. It won't kill you to figure out a plan."

Cedric was silent for a while, and then he turned and smiled at Tenten.

"I get it now," Cedric said. "Thanks a lot."

He got up and walked off towards the castle.

"My pleasure," Tenten said softly. She faced towards the lake again and let the breeze caress her hair. She felt a presence behind her and smiled quietly.

"What did he want?" Neji asked, sitting down with her.

"What, are you jealous now?" Tenten teased.

"Of course not," Neji scoffed. Tenten looked at him. Soft hair, blank eyes, but eyes filled with warmth. Yeah, she really did love him.

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Just let me stay like this for a while," she murmured. "Just for a while…"

Neji stared down at the head on his shoulder and rolled his eyes.

_She just had to fall asleep on me,_ he thought and sighed. _What am I going to do with her now? I should wake her up, shouldn't I, otherwise Naruto will get pissed if he calls one of us and we don't come._

Neji briefly considered kicking Tenten into the lake, but knew that she could probably wake up before she could fully get wet.

_I could just Kaiton her_, he thought. _No, too harsh. Or…_

"Yeah, I'll just throw her into the lake," Neji said out loud. The lake was only a few metres away from them. Neji gently picked her up bridal-style, and then flung her in. Tenten happened to wake up in mid-air, and as she saw the water coming closer, she panicked.

_Shit,_ Tenten thought. _Chakra! In my hands! Or should I put it in my knees and legs? Argh! I'll just put it on my hands._

And because fate (and the author) is cruel to her, she landed into the lake feet-first.

"HYUGA NEJI I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hm. Should I really have included that last scene in? Meh. I already did, anyway.<strong>

**I want Cedric talking to Tenten, because I realised that I do not have much student-ninja interaction in this fic. I shall be including more in later chapters~!**

**Oh, yes. Full credit to Digman14 who suggested that I should have all the champions team up against Naruto in a battle, instead of having them all fight one by one.**

**Ah, and the next chapter may take a while, because I need to do some planning for it. And also because all my exams are coming up and I need to studyT^T**


	21. Battle

**The three main reasons why this chapter was late:**

**1. I was lazy.**

**2. I had a severe case of writer's block.**

**3. I was ****lazy.**

**Be nice, guys! This is the first time where I've been late in posting a chapter, and the first time in this story where I've had writer's block (it was bound to hit sometime).**

**All that, plus there is a lot of fighting in this chapter, and I suck at fight scenes. I also had to write another fight scene in my other crossover, ****and I was kinda panicking T.T Yes, your idiot authoress is still here, and she managed to spawn out yet another chapter. Might not be my best one, though…**

**Warning: some foul language**

**Thank you to: ****inunarubleachfan14****, ****Spider's Thread****, ****The Shadow Moon****, ****Dimensional Roamer****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover****, ****ChelseaAnonymous****, ****nightliliesu****, ****Kyuubi No Tenshi****, ****WinxPossible****, ****ChaosIdeals****, ****verohey5****, ****drinkwaterkora****, ****HinataWeasley789****, ****SasuHina4evr****, ****ladyyuuki16****, ****TheFabulousLMH****, ****JayneParker****, unknown, ****Frostfire613****, DANGEROUS NINGA and ****TheIcecreamGeek**** for reviewing!**

**Chapter Twenty ****One:**

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><p><em>Holy shit.<em>

Harry wiped his sweating palms nervously against his robes.

_Holy shit. I am going to die._

"Calm down," Harry whispered to himself. It didn't help that a very high-ranking ninja (ANBU captain Uzumaki Naruto) was standing in front of the four champions with a strangely, and extremely scary, sadistic grin on his face. Naruto was twirling a kunai idling around his finger, glancing up every now and then to meet Harry's eyes.

"Does everyone remember what we're going to do?" Cedric whispered. The other three nodded. All three schools had assembled themselves in the Quidditch stands, and the four champions stood down at the pitch. The judges' table were near the three hoops, and a few extra chairs were added for Sasuke and Shikamaru, the ninja judges. The rest of the shinobi were stationed around to keep the other students from danger. Naruto sent up about ten Shadow Clones to the castle to guard it.

The noise was deafening. Loud chattering combined with the thunderous rumbles of hundreds of moving feet made talking almost impossible. Harry knew that he must have looked a little green in the face. Cedric wasn't doing much better, except the colour of his face was white. Krum's eyes were darting about restlessly, and Fleur kept pacing around the three male champions. Every now and then, the girl would mumble something in French, stop, and then keep walking again.

Madame Maxime, Karkaroff, Dumbledore, Bagman and Percy Weasley were already seated at the judges' tables. Sasuke and Shikamaru were conversing quietly with their captain, who had moved away from Harry and was jabbering away cheerfully. Harry searched the stands for his friends, and when he saw Hermione and Ron waving at him, he felt immensely reassured.

All too soon, Bagman stepped up, raised his wand to his throat and then began addressing the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bagman boomed. The noise in the stands quieted down. "I am happy to announce the beginning of the mini-task that the ninja had been kind enough to make up, but before we start: the rules." There, Bagman turned slightly to the champions, though he still had one eye on the audience. "The rules are," he said dramatically, "that you are not allowed to kill anyone" – there was a little bit of laughter at this – "and your goal is to get the two bells that Mr Uzumaki has on his hip within the time span of one hour. Also, you cannot cast 'Accio' on it, so don't bother trying. That is all." He paused while Naruto tinkled the bells for everyone to hear.

_Jingle, jingle._

"May the mini-task begin!"

The audience cheered, but then immediately fell silent as they all anticipated what Naruto and the champions were going to do.

"Fan out," Harry heard Cedric mumble. He, Krum and Fleur did so. During the planning stages, Cedric seemed to take over and become their sort of leader. Naruto stared at them cockily as they surrounded him, his lips turning into a feral grin. He looked oddly like a fox when he did that.

_Go._

"Stupefy!"

Four loud, commanding voices blurted out that word, all at once. Naruto saw the red beams of light coming and flipped into the air.

"Accio broomsticks!"

_Whoa,_ Naruto thought as he saw three broomsticks soaring through the air. _They really did think this all out. Although… it seems kinda like a copy of what Harry did in the First Task._

The crowd went wild as the three boys leapt onto their respective broomsticks and fly up into the air.

_Why did they leave Fleur on the ground?_ Naruto thought. The only female champions glared at him defiantly and raised her wand.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted. The flash of white headed towards him. Naruto had been distracted by the soaring brooms, and his reaction slowed down. The spell nicked his shoulder but it still blew him back several metres.

_Jingle, jingle._

"Ow," Naruto muttered. His eyes widened and Cedric and Krum swooped down at him, yelling out spells as they went. While Naruto was looking up, Fleur attempted to cast a Jelly-Legs Jinx on him.

_Attacking from both the air and ground,_ Naruto thought. _Smart… but what if…?_

He growled and leapt towards Fleur, drawing a kunai as he went. The girl saw him coming and tried to dodge, but Naruto caught her and held the kunai to her throat. The ANBU captain saw with satisfaction that the three other champions halted in their attack.

"Unless one of you has good aim," Naruto said loudly, "you might hit your comrade as well if you try to hit me. I'll be moving around a lot." That said, Naruto body flickered around and around the three champions. He felt Fleur swallow, and then he felt the tip of her wand against his temples. He felt her hand brush against the bells on his hip, but he twisted away before she could get a good grip on them.

_Jingle, jingle._

"Let me go or I will hex you," the French girl whispered. Naruto smiled and released his grip on her, but not before kicking her in the stomach and using that momentum to gain a distance between her.

Harry gritted his teeth and swooped towards Naruto like an owl. He raised his wand and cast a Freezing Charm towards Naruto's bare back, knowing that it probably wouldn't hit him anyway.

_Holy fucking god it actually hit him!_ Harry thought in shock. The captain was frozen on the ground.

"Get the bells!" Cedric bellowed. Fleur pelted towards the captain, but just as she was about the grab them, Naruto became unstuck and darted away.

"Impossible," Krum whispered. "He vas definitely frozen. How did he get avay so fast?"

_Mere willpower?_ Harry thought. _Did he get away just by mere willpower?_

Harry, Krum and Cedric flew slowly above Naruto while Fleur eyed Naruto warily on the ground. Harry felt a jolt of realisation run through him.

_Naruto is just playing with us,_ Harry thought. _He isn't even taking us seriously. The only time he has ever been on the offence is when he kicked Fleur away!_

Harry gritted his teeth and flew closer towards Naruto. Naruto's eyes were calculating, scrutinizing. For some reason, Harry knew that to pass this mini-task, they would have to prove something to him and the rest of the ninja. But he didn't know what.

Harry zoomed up and craned his neck, spotting Krum speeding straight towards Naruto, just like bullet.

_What is he trying to do?_ Harry thought frantically. _This wasn't part of the plan!_

Cedric spotted the same thing, and he was bellowing at Krum, but the boy ignored him. Naruto spun around on the spot and saw Krum heading for him. Naruto narrowed his eyes and poised at the ready. Fleur took this chance to hex Naruto, but the captain simply twisted out of the way, managing to keep his eye on Krum without getting hit.

_Focus._

"Cedric," Harry yelled urgently. The Hufflepuff boy glanced over at him, and the two of them caught Fleur's eye. She nodded. Krum was almost at Naruto, and as the three raised their wands, he raised his wand as well. At the same time, the four of them shouted:

"Impedimenta!"

Naruto got hit by two of the spells, and he got blown back several metres, hitting the wall of the Quidditch pitch.

"Ow," Harry heard him mutter. Naruto grimaced and made a face. His shoulder was going to bruise. Before Naruto could completely recover, though, Krum shot out, "Obscuro!"

A blindfold appeared, covering Naruto's cerulean eyes. Naruto's lips pulled up in a snarl, and his right hand crept down to where his kunai were.

* * *

><p>Naruto was now a little pissed. Normally, he wouldn't have much trouble fighting blindly, but this time, he was blind <em>and<em> he couldn't hear a damn thing because of the crowd's stupid cheering. Naruto frowned and tried tugging at the blindfold, but after he had succeeded in getting it off, his eyes had to adjust frantically from sunlight, to instant darkness, and back to sudden sunlight again. In those few seconds, Cedric managed to cast Petrificus Totalus (body-bind curse) on him. Naruto hissed as his limbs snapped together.

_Wow. I'm getting bested by a couple of kids,_ Naruto thought idly.

"The bells!"

_Jingle, jingle._

"Come on, body, MOVE!" Naruto said. His finger twitched. Naruto managed to force his limbs apart, much to the surprise of the other champions. He grinned cockily at them. One thing he didn't show was how much his muscles ached. Shit. The pain. It was like making your foot move in the middle of a cramp, except ten times worse.

_Crap. Never doing that again,_ Naruto thought, wincing and trying to run. Actually, it looked like he was hobbling. He reached down into his shuriken pouch and chucked a few of the ninja stars at Fleur. One of them hit her sleeve and pinned her to the ground, while the other skimmed along her arm and left in its wake, a long, bleeding cut. She cried out, but then turned and glared at Naruto.

Naruto threw three kunai, and though his muscles screamed in protest, his aim was still deadly and accurate. One stabbed Harry at his right shoulder, the second into Cedric's thigh and the third into Krum's stomach. All of the boys made noises of pain, but managed to stay on their brooms.

"Crap," Naruto snarled and gasped in air. His muscles were aching badly. Fleur tore the fabric away from the shuriken and sprinted at Naruto. His reflexes had slowed considerably since the start of the battle, and the girl saw this as a chance. Fleur reached out for the bells, and Naruto managed to manoeuvre his way out.

"Argh!" Naruto groaned. The pain in his muscles was starting to make him lose concentration. Once again, the tips of Fleur's fingers simply brushed the bells.

_Jingle, jingle._

"So close," Naruto heard her grunt. Fleur twisted around managed to land a kick into Naruto's stomach. Naruto's breath whooshed out of him, but he didn't slow down.

"Such a pansy kick," Naruto muttered. Fleur made a face when she heard that, and then her eyes widened when Naruto started running straight at her. He could see the panic in her eyes, and in her desperation, cast the only spell that came to her mind.

"C-confundo!"

Naruto dodged the spell, but then felt another one coming from behind him.

"Incarcerous!"

Twisting ropes shot out of Harry's wand, and though Naruto darted out of the way, one of them latched itself onto his arm. Seeing him struggle, Cedric shouted out, "Stupefy!"

Naruto jumped out of the way, hand sneaking down to his shuriken pouch.

_Jingle, jingle._

Behind him, Krum cast, "Furnunculus!"

_Oh hell no,_ Naruto thought. _There's no way I'm getting hit by that._

Naruto clenched his teeth as his muscles sent another bout of pain, and glanced towards the huge timer that stood near the judges' table. Only two minutes left...

As if sensing the time as well, Naruto saw the champions all, individually, flash a look at the timer. He saw panic in their eyes.

_Come on, don't get distracted,_ Naruto mentally growled at them. _This is not the time._

Naruto used a kunai to slash the rope that was tugging on his arm, and then reached into his pouch.

_Got it..._

Naruto smirked evilly, and gauged each of the champions' positions. Fleur was directly in front of him, Cedric, Krum and Harry spread out evenly in the air left, right and centre respectively. Naruto narrowed his eyes and estimated the distance. Good. They were not too far up.

Ignoring his aching muscles, Naruto took a running leap into the air and flipped. The crowd murmured in surprise. It was over in a second. Naruto was too fast. What had he done? Then, they gasped when they saw all four champions lying on the ground, bound together, the three broomsticks lying on the ground a few metres away.

"This," Naruto said triumphantly to the champions, who were all looking shocked and astounded that they had gotten caught, "is called ninja wire. It works just like a rope, only thinner!"

"TIME'S UP!" Bagman roared. There was a massive bell sounding, and all the champions drooped their heads, disappointed and exhausted. Even Naruto slid down as well, hugging himself. His poor, poor muscles…

_Jingle, jingle._

* * *

><p>"Naruto!" Sakura shouted out. The crowd was cheering, and the judges and ninja were contemplating the battle. The medic nin went straight to the blonde's side while Madam Pomfrey went to the champions. "Hey, what's wrong?"<p>

"I forced my body to move during a body-bind curse, and now my muscles are killing me," Naruto mumbled. He scrunched up his eyes as another wave of pain coursed through his body. "Shit!"

"Hang on," Sakura said. Naruto let her do whatever she was doing, and he tried to distract himself from how much his body hurt. Sasuke and Shikamaru were in deep discussion with Dumbledore, Maxime and Karkaroff. Sasuke seemed to be arguing about something, and the conversation seemed to be heating up as the Uchiha and Karkaroff faced off.

"Naruto, you've torn most of your muscles," Sakura said. She sighed. "Those kids really pushed you hard, didn't they." Naruto shrugged, wincing.

"They're pretty good," Naruto said. "I evaluated them as well."

Sakura smiled and started healing up the worst parts. "Yeah. Me too. The outcome is clear."

Naruto laughed. "Of course it is. This task was designed to test the kids on their common sense: what would they do when facing off an enemy who is obviously much stronger than yourself."

"Yes, their teamwork was brilliant, apart from the little thing that Krum did in the middle," Sakura said, her hands glowing blue. "They have passed this mini-task."

* * *

><p><strong>Ah damn. I really forgot who mentioned it to me, but someone helped me with writing this chapter. They said that since Harry, Cedric and Krum are all Quidditch players, then they should use brooms to attack from the air and Fleur could attack from the ground. DAMMIT! I forgot who it was. Okay, whoever it was, you have my greatest thanks.<strong>

**Edit: Okay, the person who helped me was HinataWeasley789!**

**This chapter was short. I told you already: I suck at fight scenes, and I'm lazy. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you too much. **

**Okay, I made Naruto get hurt as well because ninja aren't impenetrable. Spells work on them as much as it does on wizards. Plus, the four champions have been planning since the day they found out about the mini-task, and they've planned non-stop. They are obviously very good wizards and witches (otherwise, why would the Goblet have picked them to be champion?) and I think that Naruto getting out of that battle without a scratch is majorly unfair and just a tad bit weird. **

**Now that I read back, the battle only seemed to take five minutes. SERIOUSLY? It took about two hours and lots of procrastination to write that whole thing! Grrr… I can't be bothered changing it. I'm tired. I only got about four hours of sleep. Leave me alone x.x**

**alone x.x**


	22. Prelude

**Well… this chapter is about six days late… and I really have no reasons for it. Well. I guess I have one: I was lazy. **And also there was something wrong with the site. All the bold and italic words were running together, and I didn't want to publish it like that. I know other authors have had this problem as well T^T I just ended up copying and pasting the text from my original Word document.****

**Sooooo, I must bow in thanks for everyone's supportive reviews in the last chapter. Nobody flamed my terrible fight scene. On the contrary, I got many nice comments, all telling me to try harder!**

**And the reviewers are: ChelseaAnonymous, Ochibi and Urufu, verohey5, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, inunarubleachfan14, WinxPossible, SasuHina4evr, nightliliesu, HinataWeasley789, Furionknight, tenshi-no-akuma-81, The Shadow Moon, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover, JayneParker and Spider's Thread**

**I also must thank HinataWeasley789 for giving me the idea of using Harry, Krum and Cedric in the air coz they're all Quidditch players. Really helped me a lot. I know I have already thanked her in the last chapter, but this is here just in case XP**

**Also, one person pointed out that Naruto and Sakura may feel stupid because the champions grasped the concept of teamwork quicker than they did. I think that's true, to an extent. But I'm assuming the champions are used to working together, while ninja graduating from the Academy have never really worked together before. They all learn their jutsu and kunai-throwing and stuff separately and by themselves. Plus, Cedric, Krum and Harry have all worked together, whether with their Quidditch team (that is the case for all three of them) or with Ron and Hermione (that's for Harry). Because three of them already know the importance of teamwork, it's not hard to convince the fourth (Fleur) to work with them as well, but Fleur may already know that too.**

**Chapter Twenty Two: Prelude**

* * *

><p>"Congratulations for winning the mini-task!" Bagman said happily, bouncing energetically on the balls of his feet. The four champions, already used to Bagman's antics, simply stared at him in silence. "The aim of the mini-task was to test your intellect and problem-solving abilities: what to do when facing an enemy obviously stronger than you." He paused, and then moved onto another topic. "Now, can anyone guess why I've called you all out here?"<p>

"To tell us about the Third Task?" Cedric said dully. Bagman had already said so. Seems he's forgotten. It was lunchbreak, and they were all currently gathered out in the Quidditch pitch, where Cedric and Harry had been shocked to find hedges of some sort sprouting out of the ground. Needless to say, the two Quidditch players had not been happy.

"Of course," Bagman beamed. "Now here's another question! Can anyone guess what is happening here?"

He gestured towards the hedges, before Krum grunted, "Maze."

"That's right!" said Bagman. Harry wondered whether or not Bagman had ever been sad in his life, "A maze. The Third Task is really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the centre of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We seemply 'ave to get through ze maze?" said Fleur, raising an eyebrow.

"There will be obstacles," said Bagman happily. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures… then there will be spells that must be broken… all that sort of thing. Now, the champions who are leading on points will get a head start into the maze."

"Will the ninja be doing anything?" Harry asked. He didn't want to deal with more crazy Japanese fighting warriors/assasins, thank you very much.

"Well… I think they _may_ be doing something, but don't worry, you won't be fighting them," Bagman grinned. Harry sighed in relief. As long as it involved no type of combat against them at all, he'll be fine. "If there are no more questions, shall we go back to the castle? It's a bit chilly…"

* * *

><p>For the next few days, Harry spent most of his time in the library with Hermione and Ron, looking up hexes, or else in empty classrooms, which they sneaked into to practise. Harry was mainly concentrating on the Stunning Spell, which he had never used before.<p>

"You're going well, Harry," Gaara said, smiling slightly as he watched the boy practise. Harry was on better terms with the ninja now. The tension that usually surrounded Harry when they (Harry + shinobi) met had all but disappeared.

"Can't we kidnap Mrs Norris?" Ron suggested during Monday lunchtime, as he lay flat on his back after getting hexed by Harry. During their practices, the trio liked to discuss the incident of Mr Crouch, which had previously been forgotten as Harry, along with the other champions, prepared for the mini-task.

"Harry," Hermione said, "about Crouch –"

But before she could say another word, the bell rang, signalling the end of break. Hermione sighed, shooting him a look that clearly stated, _'__We__'__ll __talk __about __this __later.__'_

Ron and Harry headed off to Divination, while Hermione went to Arithmancy.

"It's going to be boiling in Trelawney's room, she never puts out that fire," said Ron, as they started up the staircase towards the silver ladder and the trapdoor.

Ron made a small squeak when Sasuke appeared out of nowhere, right beside Gaara, who was following them. The Uchiha, predictably, said no greeting whatsoever, and merely maintained a stony silence. Gaara did the same.

The dimly lit room was swelteringly hot. The fumes from the perfumed fire were heavier than ever. Sasuke often wondered how that worked. Could you get scented fires in the wizarding world? He and Gaara immediately went over to the window, managing not to pass out on the way. Harry and Ron sat down at a table near them.

"My dears," said Professor Trelawney, sitting down in her winged armchair in front of the class and peering around at them all with her strangely enlarged eyes, "we have almost finished our work on planetary divination. Today, however, will be an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of Mars, for he is placed…"

Sasuke tuned out the Professor's annoying, airy-fairy voice that almost lulled him to sleep. He leaned against the wall silently, breathing out a sigh as he did. Opposite him, Gaara was scanning the room with tired, but still alert eyes. However, Sasuke still saw him struggling to not just slump his head down onto the table then and there.

Sasuke saw Gaara's eyes tighten a tiny bit, though the rest of his face remained the same. He caught Sasuke's eyes, and gave an invisible nod towards Harry. Sasuke tilted his head slightly to watch the boy.

* * *

><p>The heavily perfumed fumes washed over Harry's face, and he could hear an insect humming gently somewhere behind the curtain. His eyelids began to droop…<p>

He was riding on the back of an eagle owl, soaring through the clear blue sky towards an old, ivy-covered house set high on a hillside. Lower and lower they flew, the wind blowing pleasantly in Harry's face, until they reached a dark and broken window in the upper storey of the house, and entered. Now, they were flying along a gloomy passage, to a room at the very end… through the door they went, into a dark room whose windows were boarded up…

Harry had left the owl's back… he was watching, now, as it fluttered across the room, into a chair with its back to him… there were two dark shapes on the floor beside the chair… both of them were stirring…

One was a huge snake… the other was a man… a short, balding man, a man with watery eyes and a pointed nose… he was wheezing and sobbing on the hearth-rug…

"You are in luck, Wormtail," said a cold, high-pitched voice from the depths of the chair in which the owl had landed. "You are very fortunate indeed. Your blunder has not ruined everything. He is dead."

"My Lord!" gasped the man on the door. "My Lord, I am… I am so pleased… and so sorry…"

"Nagini," said the cold voice, "you are out of luck. I will not be feeding Wormtail to you, after all… but never mind, never mind… there is still Harry Potter…"

The snake hissed. Harry could see its tongue fluttering.

"Now, Wormtail," said the cold voice, "perhaps one more little reminder why I will not tolerate another blunder from you…"

"My Lord… no… I beg you…"

The tip of the wand emerged from the depths of the chair. It was pointing at Wormtail.

"Crucio," said the cold voice.

* * *

><p>Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Harry jerked from his chair with a shout. He tumbled onto the floor, much to the startled surprise of the rest of the class. He was pressing a hand to his scar, and he rolled across the room, yelling. He knocked over a few tables and pouffes, its occupants jumping out of the way.<p>

"Harry!" Gaara said loudly, slapping the boy awake. Harry opened his eyes, gasping in breath.

"You all right?" Ron asked. His face was white and he looked completely terrified. He helped Harry up, and then jumped when Professor Trelawney started taking rapidly, her eyes popping wildly.

"Of course he isn't!" said Professor Trelawney, looking thoroughly excited. "What was it, Potter? A premonition? An apparition? What did you see?"

"I think Harry needs to go to the Hospital Wing, don't you, Harry?" Sasuke said, cutting across the teacher's ramblings. Harry nodded fervently, seeing where Sasuke was going.

"I need a headache cure," Harry said firmly. He was still clutching his scar. He stood up and picked up his bag, muttering a, "See you later," to Ron, and following Sasuke out the trapdoor. The Uchiha shot Gaara a look, which the red-head returned, and the trapdoor closed over his head.

* * *

><p>"Cockroach cluster," Sasuke said calmly. The gargoyle jumped aside, letting him and Harry travel up the winding staircase. When they reached the door, Harry was about to knock, before Sasuke grabbed his arm and shook his head. Harry glanced at him in confusion, and then heard why. He could hear voices from inside the office.<p>

"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!" It was the voice for the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "Ludo says Bertha's perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we've no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all, as for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's!"

"And what do you think has happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?" said Moody's growling voice.

"I see two possibilities, Alastor," said Fudge. "Either Crouch has finally cracked – more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history – lost his mind, and gone wandering off somewhere –"

"He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case," said Dumbledore quietly.

"Or else – well…" Fudge sounded embarrassed. "Well, I'll reserve judgement until after I've seen the place where he was found, but can you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman _is_?"

"I consider her to be a very able Headmistress – and an excellent dancer," said Dumbledore, almost cheerfully.

"Dumbledore, come!" said Fudge angrily. "Don't you think you might be prejudiced in her favour because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out harmless – if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with that monster fixation he's got –"

"I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid," said Dumbledore, just as calmly. "I think it is possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius."

"Maybe so," said Fudge darkly, "what about those ninja you've got up in your castle? I'm sure you know as well as I do what they do for a living."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "But they will remain loyal to the client, no matter the circumstances."

"You cannot just trust their words!" Fudge cried. "They are _killers_, Dumbledore. Think about what that word means!"

Sasuke snarled under his breath. His eyes were gleaming oddly, and for a split second, they flashed red.

"Can we wrap up this discussion?" growled Moody.

"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds, then," said Cornelius impatiently. "It's been a week, after all. There shouldn't be many clues left, but let's go anyway."

"No, it's not that," said Moody, "it's just that Potter and the Sasuke kid want a word with you, Dumbledore. They're just outside the door."

Sasuke twitched irritably at the word 'kid'.

* * *

><p>"Wait, don't touch that!"<p>

Sasuke leapt forwards to grab at Harry's legs as they disappeared over the rim of the basin that he had been bending over. Sasuke's fingers curled over empty air, and he saw Harry for a brief moment in the silvery substance before it vanished completely. Sasuke was left, teeth gritted, eyes wide, in Dumbledore's office.

_That __idiot!_ Sasuke thought.

It wasn't very wise to follow Harry. Sasuke didn't know where the boy had gone. He decided to get the owner, Dumbledore, to find out what to do. Sasuke cast one last glance at the basin, and then body flickered out and away.

* * *

><p>Sasuke paced beside the bowl, or, as Dumbledore called it, the Pensieve, before, to his great relief, the silhouettes of Dumbledore and Harry appeared before him. They both glowed brightly for a few seconds, before the glow receded. Sasuke didn't wait for Harry to recover before he was in front of the boy in an instant.<p>

"You freaking moron!" Sasuke hissed, grabbing the front of Harry's robes. "Haven't you learnt from experience already? You _never_ touch or even freaking go _near_ something you don't know. What if that thing was a trap, huh? Huh? What if you had been killed?"

Harry, who was still struggling to grasp his surroundings, could clearly see that he had upset the boy.

"Ah, sorry?" Harry offered unhelpfully as he tried to regain his balance. Dumbledore smiled slightly at the two of them.

"May I ask that you unhand Harry, please?" Dumbledore said politely. Sasuke gave a disgusted huff and let go, burying his hands deep into the pockets of his black ANBU uniform.

Sasuke scowled, but patiently let Harry and Dumbledore talk about the boy's dream and what he had seen in the Pensieve for a while, as he made his way smoothly through Dumbledore's office, glancing over the strange little trinkets and noisy silver instruments. When Harry stood up to go, Sasuke followed, casting his eye over the office once more, and finally onto the headmaster himself. Dumbledore gave Sasuke the tiniest of winks, and though Sasuke gave no indication that he had seen it to the old man's face, smirked slightly as he left.

* * *

><p>The day of the Third Task found Harry and Ron sitting down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, both of them shovelling down food like there was no tomorrow. Harry blinked in surprise when he saw Professor McGonagall walking down along the Gryffindor table towards him.<p>

"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast," she said.

"But the task isn't 'til tonight!" said Harry, accidently spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time.

"I'm aware of that, Potter," she said crisply. "The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

She moved away, Harry gaping after her.

"You better move, Harry," Shikamaru said, prodding him. "Breakfast is about to finish."

"R-right," Harry said, glancing up at the ninja. The Nara boy yawned widely, and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

"Didn't get much sleep last night," Shikamaru grumbled as he walked Harry outside of the Great Hall.

"But I thought you were the type for fall asleep really easily," Harry said. He had seen the shinobi do that countless of times. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Not last night," Shikamaru said. "We're all nervous."

By 'we', he meant all the other ninja.

"Why?" Harry said. Shikamaru regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"Think it through, Harry," Shikamaru said. "Someone entered your name into the Goblet, and in the worst case scenario, they were, and still are, trying to kill you. You're not dead yet, and so this Third Task is their final chance. We'll have to be more alert this evening."

"I suppose that's true," Harry murmured. In truth, he had conveniently forgotten the pure, basic reason why he was accidently-on-purpose entered into this tournament.

When Harry entered the chamber, the first thing he saw was bright red hair. This belonged to Mrs Weasley and Bill, who were standing in front of the fireplace. A huge grin lit up the boy's face, and he immediately forgot all his former worries as he hurried over to greet them.

"Surprise!" Mrs Weasley said excitedly. "Thought we'd come over and watch you, Harry!" She bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

"You all right?" said Bill, grinning at Harry and shaking his hand. "Charlie wanted to come, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail."

"This was really nice of you," Harry muttered to Mrs Weasley. "I thought for a moment – the Dursleys –"

"Hm," Mrs Weasley said, pursing her lips. Her eyes then caught sight of Shikamaru leaning lazily against the wall near Harry, and at the same time, Bill noticed him as well.

"So, it's true that Dumbledore hired some people for the castle," Bill said, lowering his voice. Shikamaru gave no indication that he had heard him, but then again, ninja were good at hiding things like that. Harry nodded.

"But it's alright," Harry said. "They've been pretty good, so far."

"I heard from Dumbledore that you were uncomfortable with them at the start," Mrs Weasley said in concern.

"Well, they were hard to deal with, but everything's fine now," Harry assured her. Mrs Weasley smiled at him, seemingly at ease.

"Charlie said they looked like predators," Bill said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "He's always worked around animals, well, dragons, but he said that when he first saw those ninja, they reminded him of predators."

"I guess he's right," Harry said, grinning a little.

"Anyway, it's great being back here," said Bill, effectively changing the subject. He looked around the chamber, "Haven't seen this place for five years. Is that picture of the mad knight still around? Sir Cadogan?"

"Oh, yeah," said Harry, who had met Sir Cadogan the previous year.

"And the Fat Lady?" said Bill.

"She was here in my time," said Mrs Weasley. "She gave me such a telling-off one night when I got back to the dormitory at four in the morning –"

"What were you doing out of your dormitory at four in the morning?" said Bill, surveying Mrs Weasley with amazement.

Mrs Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling.

"Your father and I had been for a night time stroll," she said, smiling wistfully at the memory.

"Fancy giving us a tour, Harry?" said Bill.

"Yeah, okay," said Harry, and they made their way back towards the door into the Great Hall. Harry looked back, waiting for Shikamaru, but the ninja was gone.

* * *

><p>"Moody-san will be taking the Cup down to the maze," Naruto said. Neji frowned.<p>

"I don't trust him," Neji said. "He seems… a little suspicious."

Naruto cocked his head. "If you really feel that way, go and accompany him down. Moody will be doing in a minute or two."

Naruto didn't doubt any of his friends' intuition. It was better safe than sorry, anyway.

Neji spotted the scarred Auror making his way towards the Quidditch pitch, and hurried over to join him.

"Good afternoon, Moody-san," Neji said. His voice was cold. The Auror jumped violently when he saw the shinobi, but then regained his composure. His grip tightened on the trophy he was holding. It was covered in a cloth. Neji pretended not to notice his reaction.

"And to you," he said gruffly. Neji wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Moody frown a little. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

"Just coming with you while you take the Cup down," Neji said. Moody raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever for?" he said. "I'm fine by myself."

"Regulations," Neji said, shrugging. "My captain ordered me to do it, and so I am."

"What? Don't trust me?" Moody said sarcastically.

"No, I don't," Neji said bluntly. "I don't trust many people."

Moody raised an almost-invisible eyebrow. "I like that. I don't trust many people either."

The two of them then fell silent, both of them on their guard, until they reached the entrance of the maze.

"I know the route my heart," Moody said. "It won't take long."

They entered the oppressing darkness of the maze, Moody leading. All the obstacles that they came across promptly let them both pass without fail. In no time, they reached the centre. Neji watched carefully as the man placed the Triwizard Cup on a stand, and then removed the cloth that was covering it. The Cup shone brightly, and Moody stepped back in satisfaction. He raised his wand and cast a spell. The words were so soft that even Neji couldn't hear it.

"What was that for?" Neji asked. Moody looked at him, and shining pleasure glowed within his eyes. Neji shifted restlessly, unsettled.

"What? Oh, that was just safety measure," Moody said. "We want it to be perfect. Things could happen to the trophy. It might fall of the stand, or leaves may get blown into it."

"Hn." Neji felt that such measures were unnecessary, but he did not say anything.

"Let's go," Moody said, and they did. Neji still activated his Byakugan as they left. Though there was nothing wrong with the trophy, apart from the fact that strong energy covered it (Neji assumed that it was simply because of the spell Moody cast on it), the Hyuga still felt distinctly uneasy.

* * *

><p>The Third Task was finally here. Harry was stationed around the maze, the ninja around it – though about a three of them were missing, for some reason – the stands were filling up and the night was clear. There was a certain troubled feeling in Naruto's gut, though he couldn't pinpoint why.<p>

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, on eighty five points each – Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering in the darkening sky. "In second place, on eighty points – Mr Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place – Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Naruto paced the edge of the maze, blue eyes scanning the crowd every now and then. A shrill whistle pierced the air, and he watched as Harry and Cedric hurried into the maze. He knew that Hinata and Neji would be patrolling carefully tonight, Byakugan activated, just as the ANBU captain had requested.

As soon as Harry and Cedric were out of sight, Naruto started worrying like hell.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally! Up to the Third Task! Next chapter should be fairly interesting. Yes, I know that some parts of this chapter were boring. Yes, I know that my writing is a little rusty. Yes, I know that this chapter didn't flow very well. And yes, the next update will be quicker XP<strong>


	23. Skull

***Barren desert… wind blowing… no one in sight… random tumbleweed rolls across the scene… and then the authoress creeps into view***

**… Well… hi guys… it's been a while, hasn't it? *Laughs nervously* I'm sure you're all angry at me for this late post when I have been so diligent in my timing for all my other chapters… ne? I'm sorry. I lied. This chapter took ages to come out, even though I promised you a quicker update . No matter, because it's up now.**

**The reviewers: Spider's Thread, The Shadow Moon, Kyuubi No Tenshi, Ochibi and Urufu, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, verohey5, nightliliesu, WinxPossible, IloveallAnime15, SasuHina4evr, tenshi-no-akuma-81, JayneParker, Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover, dangerous ninga, icecatfire, Rigoudon3 and ladyyuuki16**

**Thanks to The Shadow Moon for the assistance that helped me spout out this chapter.**

**Chapter Twenty Three: Skull**

* * *

><p>The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and whether because they were so tall and thick, or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they (he and Cedric) entered the maze. Harry felt almost as if he was underwater again. He pulled out his wand, muttered "<em>Lumos<em>", and heard Cedric do the same just behind him.

After about fifty metres, they reached a fork. They looked at each other.

"See you," said Harry, and he took the left one, while Cedric took the right. He hurried along for what seemed like ages, and he eventually began to worry. Why wasn't he encountering anything? It felt vaguely creepy, and the feeling of being watched only intensified by each passing minute.

Then he heard movement right behind him. He held out his wand, ready to attack, but its beam only fell upon Cedric, who had just run out of a path on the right hand side. Cedric looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robes was smoking.

"Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!" he hissed. "They're enormous – I only just got away."

He shook his head, and dived out of sight. Grimacing, Harry continued along. Then, as he turned a corner, he saw –

A Dementor was gliding towards him. Three metres tall, its face hidden by its hood, it advanced, sensing its way blindly towards him. Harry could hear its rattling breath; he felt clammy coldness stealing over him, but he knew what he had to do.

He summoned the happiest though he could, concentrated with all his might on the thought of getting out of the maze and celebrating with Ron and Hermione, raised his wand and shouted out the spell: "_Expecto Patronum_!"

A silver stag erupted from the end of Harry's wand and galloped towards the Dementor, which fell back, and tripped over the hem of its robes… Harry had never seen a Dementor stumble.

"Hang on!" he shouted, advancing in the wake of his silver Patronus, "you're a Boggart! _Riddikulus_!"

There was a loud crack, and the shape shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke. The silver stag faded from sight. Harry stopped to catch his breath, and wished that the stag could have stayed. He could use some company.

Harry moved on as quickly as possible, listening hard, staying quiet.

Left… right… left again, twice he found himself facing dead ends. He back tracked, and continued. Right… right…

"AHHHH!"

Harry found himself sinking fast into a random desert that definitely hadn't been there before.

_Quick sand,_ Harry though. _But I thought quick sand wasn't really quick at all… it was just blown out of proportion… unless…_

Sure enough, as he looked around, he saw the perpetrator.

Gaara stood at the edge, manipulating his sand with barely a twitch of his fingers.

"Evening, Harry," he said conversationally. "You better get out quick."

"How?" Harry yelled. He was now up to his waist in sand, and was sinking even more. He looked around desperately for something to grab onto, but he saw nothing. The side of the hedges were out of his reach. Gaara shrugged.

"I don't know, it's your problem," he said. He tried every spell he knew, but none worked. He was now up to his chest. His eyes fell on Gaara.

"_Stupefy_!" he yelled, pointing his wand at the ninja. Gaara leapt out of the way, but sure enough, it worked. The sand stopped giving way, and Harry kicked his legs, trying to get out. Gaara reappeared, and Harry blinked. "Aren't you going to make the sand sink me even more?" he asked.

"No," Gaara said, but he wouldn't say anything more. "Now I get to watch you struggle out."

_Sadistic little…_ Harry thought, grumbling to himself. When he found himself on firm ground again, sand poured out of his robes like a waterfall. He didn't have time to empty out his shoes, though…

Harry shook himself like a dog, and then started to back away. Gaara watched him impassively.

"See ya," Harry said, and ran off… and straight into a strange golden mist.

Great, now the world was upside down.

_Stupid!_ Harry thought fiercely to himself.

Harry was hanging from the ground, with his hair on end, his glasses dangling off his nose, threatening to fall into the bottomless sky. He clutched them to the end of his nose and hung there, terrified. It felt as though his feet were glued to the grass, which had now become the ceiling. Below him the dark, star-spangled heavens stretched endlessly. He felt as though if he tried to move one of his feet, he would fall away from the earth completely.

_Think,_ he told himself, as all the blood rushed to his head, _think…_

He took a deep breath, and shut his eyes, so he wouldn't be able to see the view of the endless space below him, and pulled his right foot as hard as he could, away from the grassy ceiling.

Immediately, the world right itself. Harry fell forwards onto his knees on the wonderfully solid ground. Then, he got up and sprinted as far away as he could from the golden mist.

He heard someone scream… it sounded like Fleur.

He paused at a junction of two paths and looked around for some sign of Fleur. He was sure it had been she who had screamed…

He spotted Ino along one of the pathways, and he quickly went in the opposite direction. He didn't want to go against another ninja, thank you very much.

He met nothing for ten minutes, except for dead ends, and as he ran along a path, he saw up ahead the silhouette of someone familiar.

"Tenten," he said, slowing to a stop in front of her. She was carrying some weapons, and seemed close to cackling with delight.

"Finally!" she said. "I haven't seen anyone since the start. It's been bor-ing."

"Wait a sec," he said. "I thought we weren't supposed to fight you guys."

Tenten rolled her shoulders. "I'm not fighting you."

"Eh?"

She grinned, and her brown eyes seemed to glow oddly in the dark. "Quiz time~!"

Harry almost fell flat on his face. "What?"

Tenten waved the weapons in the air. "It's really easy," she said. "I hold up a weapon, you tell me the right answer. If you get more than two wrong, _then_ I attack. Fun, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said weakly.

"You can't leave, anyway," Tenten said. "I won't allow you to go back."

"Great…"

"You have three seconds to answer," Tenten said. "Any later than that, I also attack. Got it?"

"Yeah…"

"Ready?" she asked. Harry nodded. "Alright, what's this?"

Tenten held up the blade he saw the ninja use so often. What was its name again…?

"Uh…" he said, "a kunai."

Tenten nodded enthusiastically. "And this?"

"I think… a shuriken."

"Yup! Now this!"

"I think it's a mace."

A nod. "This."

"A club."

"Right."

"An axe."

"Yup. What's this?"

"A… sword."

"Bleh. Wrong! It's a katana."

"… Whoops."

"Now what's this?"

"… A spiked ball?"

"Hai! You pass!"

"Is that it?" Harry asked in amazement, as he walked around her. Tenten nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I told you it was going to be easy."

"Okay then," said Harry, "thanks."

He rounded the corner, ducked into the right path, and then turned left. He heard a yell; Cedric's, but he was nowhere near him. Harry continued on.

Every so often he hit more dead ends, but the increasing blackness made him feel sure he was getting near the heart of the maze. Or it could have just been the night getting darker.

Then, as he strode along down a narrow, straight path, he saw movement once again, and his beam of wand-light fell upon an extraordinary creature, once which he had only seen in picture from, in his _Monster Book of Monsters._

It was a sphinx. It had the body of an overgrown lion; great clawed paws, and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Harry as he approached. He raised his wand, hesitating. She was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking his progress.

Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice. "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is to pass me."

"So… so will you move, please?" said Harry, knowing what the answer will be.

"No," she said, continuing to pace. "Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I will let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I will let you walk away from me, unscathed."

_This is just like Tenten,_ Harry thought.

His stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from her unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the centre.

"Okay," he said. "Can I hear the riddle?"

The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very centre of the path, and recited.

_"First think of the person who lives in disguise,  
>Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.<br>Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,  
>The middle of the middle and the end of the end?<br>And finally give me the sound often heard  
>During the search for a hard-to-find word.<br>Now string them together, and answer me this,  
>Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"<em>

Harry gaped at her.

"Could I have it again… more slowly?" he asked tentatively.

She blinked at him, smiled, and repeated the poem.

"All the clues add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss?" Harry asked.

She merely smiled her mysterious smile. Harry took that for a 'yes'. Harry cast his mind around. There were plenty of animals he wouldn't want to kiss; his immediate thought was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but something told him that wasn't the answer. He'd have to try and work out the clues.

"A person in disguise," Harry muttered, staring at her, "who lies… er… hat's be a – an imposter. No, that's not my guess! A – a spy? I'll come back to that… could you give me the next clue again, please?"

She repeated the next lines of the poem.

"The last thing to mend," Harry repeated. "Er… no idea… middle of middle… could I have the bit again?"

She gave him the last four lines.

"A sound often heard in the search for a hard-to-find word," said Harry. "Er… that's be… er… hang on – 'er'! 'Er's a sound!"

The sphinx smiled at him.

"Spy… er… spy… er…" said Harry, pacing up and down himself. "A creature I wouldn't want to kiss… _a spider_!"

The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass.

"Thanks!" said Harry, and, amazed at his own brilliance, he dashed forwards.

He had to be close now; he had to be… his wand was telling him he was bang on course; as long as he didn't meet anything too horrible, he might be in with a chance…

He had a choice of paths up ahead. "Point me!" he whispered to his wand, and it spun around and pointed him to the right hand one. He dashed up this once, and saw light ahead.

The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred metres away. Harry had just broken in a run, when a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of him.

Cedric was going to get there first. Cedric was sprinting as fast as he could to towards the Cup, and Harry knew he would never catch up, Cedric was much taller, had much longer legs –

Then Harry saw something immense over a hedge to his left.

_Oh, shit…_

"Cedric!" Harry bellowed. "One your left!"

Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and avoid colliding with it but, in his haste, he tripped. The gigantic spider stepped into the path, and began to bear down on Cedric.

_Why did Hagrid have to invite one of Aragog's kids here?_ Harry thought in despair.

"_Stupefy_!" he yelled. The spell hit the spider's gigantic, hairy black body but, surprise, surprise, it didn't work. Of course there would be no easy monster to tackle. The spider jerked and scuttled around, and ran at Harry instead.

"_Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!_"

But it was no use – the spider was either so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing nothing more than making it angry. Harry took a deep breath, and shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"

The spider squealed loudly and rolled over. He shouted out the Stunning Spell, hearing Cedric do the same.

The two spells combined did what one alone had not – the spider keeled sideways, flattening a nearby hedge, and strewing the path with a tangle of hairy legs.

"Harry!" he heard Cedric shouting. "You all right? Did it fall on you?"

"No," Harry called back. He moved around the spider, and saw Cedric standing metres away from the Triwizard Cup. The spider began to jerk again.

"Uh oh," Cedric muttered. "It's waking up."

Both were too exhausted to deal with another encounter with the spider.

"If one of us takes the Cup," Cedric said, "will that get rid of the spider?"

"Maybe," Harry said. The spider began to get onto its legs. "Take it."

Cedric frowned. "No, you take it."

The spider began to advance shakily towards them.

"Both of us," Harry said quickly, one eyes on the spider.

"What?"

"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."

Cedric stared at Harry. The spider was closer now.

"One three, right?" said Harry, panicking slightly with the spider so near them. Its pincers snapped angrily. "One – two – three –"

He and Cedric both grasped a handle.

* * *

><p>"No," Naruto whispered. He began to body flicker to where he knew where the centre of the maze was. "No way."<p>

He ignored the cries of his comrades, and he arrived just in time to see a blue glow engulfing Harry and Cedric.

_Shit…_

"OI!" Naruto shouted. He leapt forward. Naruto's finger brushed the Cup, but he was still pulled along. Naruto felt a sudden pressure on his right ankle, and as he glanced down, he spotted Neji grabbing on tightly to his legs.

_Neji…?_

He could not move his finger away from the Cup; it was dragging him onwards, in a howl of wind and colour, both Hogwarts champions by his side.

* * *

><p>Harry felt his feet slam into the ground, and he toppled over, the Triwizard Cup tumbled to the grass. It was then that he noticed the unexpected passengers, apart from Cedric.<p>

"Naruto?" he asked in amazement, "Neji?" The said ninja gave a groan as their answer.

"The crap…?" Naruto mumbled, rubbing his head. He glanced around and got into position. "Where are we?"

Harry shrugged. Cedric shook his head. He got up, pulled Harry to his feet, and the group looked around.

"I grabbed onto you as he disappeared," Neji confessed. Naruto rolled his eyes on him.

"I noticed," he said dryly. Neji smirked slightly at him, and then turned serious again.

"This wasn't part of the challenge," Neji murmured.

"It isn't?" Cedric said. Neji shook his head. "Then we're in trouble, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I can feel something… nauseating nearby, can you?"

The other three boys nodded. Naruto shifted his weight, and his gaze zeroed in behind Harry. The whole world seemed to quiet down, quiet down and listen.

The hairs on Harry's neck were standing up, and he was almost too afraid to turn around. Cedric's face was a mask of horror, while Naruto and Neji simply tensed their muscles and got into defensive positions.

Harry willed his feet to move, and once they did, he squinted tersely through the darkness. They watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily towards them between the graves. Harry couldn't make out a face but from the way it was walking, it was evidently carrying something. Whoever they were, they were short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over their head to obscure the face. And – several paces nearer, the space between them closing all the time – he saw that the thing in the person's arms looked like a baby… or was it merely a bundle of robes?

Naruto hissed, his eyes wild and scary. Neji's face was white. They could feel the power emanating from the bundle of robes.

"It's not as disgusting as the Kyuubi's chakra," Neji whispered, "but its damn close."

The figure stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six metres from them. For a second, Harry, Cedric, Naruto, Neji and the figure simply looked at each other.

And then, without warning, Harry's scar exploded with pain. It was agony such as he had never felt in all is life; his wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face his knees buckled; he was on the ground and he could see nothing at all, his head was about to split open.

From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, _"Kill the spares."_

A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: _"Avada Kedavra."_

A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he heard quick, light footsteps darting away. The pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and he opened his stinging eyes.

He saw, with the greatest sensation of relief that Cedric was tossed onto Neji's back, his face utterly confused as to how he got there, while the two shinobi started at the figure(s) with cold expressions on their faces.

_"I said,"_ the high, cold voice whispered, _"kill the spares. Wait… no… tie them up… and let them watch this great scene… afterwards we will kill them…"_

The short figure raised his wand and ropes shot out. Neji, burdened by the weight of Cedric, was captured. The short figure wasted no time, and turned his wand on Naruto. He said something soft, and a bright blaze of light engulfed everyone. Whilst Naruto was momentarily blinded, the short figure quickly bound him up as well.

"Let me go, ya bastard!" Naruto yelled. The figure cast '_Silencio'_ on him, and Naruto's mouth opened and closed furiously.

Harry dimly felt himself being dragged. The figure had put down his bundle and was pulling Harry towards the marble headstone. Harry saw the name upon it flickering in the wand-light before he was forced around and slammed against it.

TOM RIDDLE

The man conjured cords again and tied Harry tightly against the headstone from beck to ankles. Harry could hear shallow, fast breathing from the depths of the hood; he struggled and the man hit him with a hand that had a finger missing. And Harry realised who was under the hood. It was Wormtail.

Once Wormtail was sure that Harry couldn't even move a centimetre, he stuffed a cloth into his mouth and then turned from Harry and hurried away.

"Harry," whispered a voice. Harry could see out of the corner of his eye Neji bound on the ground a few metres away. "You okay?"

Harry couldn't even move his head to nod. Instead, he grunted, hoping that would be a good enough answer.

Cedric wriggled unsuccessfully, and Wormtail kicked him in the head as he passed.

The bundle of robes that Harry had thought was a baby was close by, at the foot of the grave. It seemed to be stirring fretfully. Harry watched it, and his scar seared with pain again… and he suddenly knew that he didn't want to see what was in those robes… he didn't want that bundle opened…

He could hear noises at his feet. He looked down, and saw a gigantic snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone where he was tied. Wormtail came back into Harry's field of vision, and he was pushing a large cauldron. It was full of what seemed to be water – Harry could hear it slopping around – and it was larger than any cauldron Harry had eve used; a great stone belly large enough for a full-grown man to sit in.

Wormtail was busying himself at the bottom of the cauldron with a wand. Suddenly there were crackling flames beneath it. The large snake slithered away into the darkness.

The liquid in the cauldron seemed to heat very fast. The surface began not only to bubble, but also to send out fiery sparks, as though it was on fire.

_"Hurry!"_

The whole surface of the water was alight with sparks now. It might have been encrusted with diamonds.

"It is ready, master."

"Now…" said the cold voice. Wormtail pulled open the robes on the ground, revealing what was inside them, and Harry let out a muffled yell.

* * *

><p>Neji watched in horror as he saw the thing that was inside the robes. It wasn't anything at all, not human nor animal. It was a creature, a monster.<p>

The thing Wormtail had been carrying had the shape of a crouched human child, except that Neji had never see anything less like a child. It was hairless and scaly looking, a dark, raw, reddish black. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face – no child alive ever had a face like that – was flat and snake-like, with gleaming red eyes.

Neji swallowed back the bile that threatened to spill. He moved his head, and caught his captain's eyes a few metres away. He heard the creature being dumped into the cauldron, and Wormtail spoke, his voice quavering.

_"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"_

The headstone had Harry's feet cracked open, and a fine trickle of dust rose into the air at Wormtail's command. It fell softly into the cauldron.

And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin shining silver dagger from the inside of his robes. His voice broke into petrified sobs. _"Flesh – of the servant – w-willingly given – you will – revive – your master."_

Neji glanced away as Wormtail cut off his hand, and the scream that filled the air was blocked out of Neji's emotional system.

_"B-blood of the enemy… forcibly taken… you will… resurrect your foe."_

"No!" Neji shouted, but Wormtail had cut a long, gleaming gash down Harry's arm. Wormtail collected the blood in the flask with a shaking hand, and stumbled back to the cauldron.

The pot itself was simmering, sending its diamond sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. Nothing happened.

_Let it have gone wrong,_ Neji thought, because he knew exactly what that baby thing had been. _Let it have gone wrong…_

And then suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in front of Neji, so that he couldn't see Wormtail, Naruto, Cedric, Harry or anything.

But then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, with a feeling of nausea, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.

"Robe me," said the high, cold voice from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing almost hysterically, pulled dark clothes over the body one-handed-ly.

The man stepped out of the cauldron, and Neji saw it stare at Harry. The boy stared back, both locked in a silent battle. The man glanced away first, and then his red, red eyes fell onto Neji.

"We seem to have unexpected guests," the man whispered. His voice snaked through the air like poison.

"Voldemort," Neji said inaudibly. Cedric started beside him, and Neji could feel a gaze filled with terror bore into him. Voldemort raised his wand.

"You have witnessed the greatest event to ever take place," Voldemort said.

"Don't touch him," Naruto growled. The Silencing Charm must have worn off. "I'll kill you if you do."

Voldemort's eyes flickered over to Naruto. "You will be dealt with shortly," Voldemort said silkily. He turned back to Neji. "Firstly, your _comrade _here must die."

Neji met Naruto's gaze, and he silently sent a wordless message to him. Naruto's eyes widened.

"NO-"

_"Avada Kedavra."_

"NEJI!"

* * *

><p><strong>Aren't I cruel? I come back after weeks and weeks, and then I leave you guys with a cliffie. <strong>

**I also think that the maze bit in this chapter moved a bit too fast =_=**

**What do you think has happened to Neji?**


	24. Bow to Death

**BAHAHAHA! IN YOUR FACE, STUPID WRITER'S BLOCK! *Stabs it***

***Sees readers* Oh, hey *scratches back of head* Ehehehe… I'm assuming you're all a little annoyed at the wait? Um… well… I had writer's block?**

**Thank you to the reviewers: Spider's Thread, Furionknight, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, ChelseaAnonymous, The Shadow Moon, Kyuubi No Tenshi, WinxPossible, tenshi-no-akuma-81, SiriusBalisticPretzels, ladyyuuki16, IloveallAnime15, wunsleh, Frostfire613, DaughterofDemeter123, Sleepyreader319, icecatfire, RasenShuriken92, nightliliesu, Moss, Hyperwolfpup, Rawr, , lambtastic, CATSthewriter, verohey5, Cool 123 and kitty132383. For Magic of Beginning, not really a review, but I appreciate all the same, though it was a little rude O_O**

**Chapter Twenty Four: Bow to Death**

* * *

><p>"Neji! Neji! NEJI!"<p>

Naruto continued calling his name, as if saying it over and over again would make his comrade rise up from the ground, brush himself off and kick Voldemort's ass.

"NEJI!"

But Neji did not move. Naruto stared at his limp body, a few metres away from where he had fallen, and yelled. He had tried the Rope Escape Jutsu, but it didn't work. These ropes were Charmed.

"NEJI!"

Naruto felt disbelief seeping through him. Neji wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead.

Suddenly, the ropes around Naruto loosened, and he didn't pause to consider why. He shook off the cords and sprinted towards his friend.

"Neji!"

Naruto's fingers started to shake when he withdrew them from Neji's neck. There as a pulse. Oh god… oh god oh god oh god oh god… thank god.

Neji's breathing was erratic and shallow; he was gulping in air, but there was a curious gurgling sound.

"Neji?"

The side of the Hyuuga's chest looked flat, hollow, almost as if…

"Oh my god."

Once he realised what had happened, Naruto took care not to jolt Neji's body any further.

"It is a useful little spell, is it not?" Voldemort sneered. "It feels as if a thousand rocks have crushed you from above."

The blonde boy took no notice of Voldemort's gloating, though the ninja part of his brain kept paying attention to him.

"Neji," Naruto whispered. Quick, ragged, fast breathing, sucking in air… the gurgle of blood. "You are in so much shit."

Voldemort had cast some sort of spell, and so the entire side of Neji's right rib cage had cracked and caved in. Naruto was sure that it had pierced his right lung. Naruto could see two ribs poking out from underneath his clothes, tearing through the flesh and into his clothes.

"Hang on."

"Avada Kedavra."

Naruto snarled, jumped towards the third champion and managed to push Cedric out of the way.

"You're not killing anyone tonight," Naruto hissed. His blue eyes were unclear, but when they settled onto Voldemort's bald, hairless face, they filled with a terrible fury unlike any other.

"There's a good look," Voldemort whispered, his lips still curved in amusement. "Yes, look at me with hatred. Kill me with your eyes…"

To Naruto's anger, Voldemort turned away from him, as if he wasn't of any danger. He held Wormtail's arm delicately in his hands, and then pushed the sleeves up. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pressed the vivid red tattoo that adorned the inside of Wormtail's wrist.

"It is back," he said softly, "they will all have noticed it… and now, we shall see… now we shall know…"

Naruto heard Harry give out a holler of pain. He glanced at him, and saw that his face was screwed up, eyes sealed shut.

A look of cruel satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" he whispered, his gleaming red eyes fixed upon the stars. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

Naruto inched towards Harry, intent on freeing him, until Voldemort said lazily, "Stay where you are, ninja. If you attempt to save Harry Potter, the boy over there will die as well." He nodded towards Cedric, still bound up in ropes. Naruto's eyes flashed.

The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind the yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards were Apparating. All of them were hooded and masked. And one by one they moved forwards… slowly, cautiously, as in silence, waiting for them. Then one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled towards Voldemort, and kissed the hem of his black robes.

"Master… master…" he murmured.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same; each of them approaching Voldemort on his knees, and kissing his robes, before backing away and standing up, forming a silent circle, which enclosed Tom Riddle's grave, Harry, Voldemort, Wormtail, Cedric, Naruto and Neji. Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people. Voldemort, however, did not seem to expect more. He looked around at the hooded faces, and though there was no wind, a rustling seemed to run around the circle, as though it had shivered.

"Welcome, Death Eaters," said Voldemort quietly. "Thirteen years… thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it was yesterday… we are still united under the Dark Mark, then! _Or __are __we?_"

He put back his terrible face and sniffed, his slit-like nostrils widening.

"I smell guilt," he said. "There is a stench of guilt upon the air."

As Voldemort whispered curses and questions, Naruto analysed the situation he was in. He was free, yes, but also surrounded by quite a lot of Death Eaters and the evil snake lord himself. He knew that his comrades wouldn't know where he was; he and Neji had disappeared by Portkey, and the ninja back at Hogwarts could not trace it. Therefore, he was stuck. His eyes fell on the Portkey itself which lay outside the circle of Death Eaters, and wondered if it could take him back. He then scanned the immediate area, noting the position Harry was in, and where Neji and Cedric lay.

"Now," Voldemort said silkily, "what are we going to do with the ones who do not belong here?"

He looked at Naruto and Cedric maliciously. Cedric glared up at Voldemort, teeth gritted, fingers clenched. There was a harsh word, and then a large, gaping wound slashed itself against Cedric's front. It was so quick, so sudden, that Naruto did not know how to react. Cedric stared at the cut for a second, surprise etched onto his face, and then the pain set in. He screamed.

Blood splattered the grass, and Naruto dashed over to him, trying to stop the bleeding. Strangely enough, the spell had cut Cedric, but the ropes around him remained intact. Naruto growled and attempted to free him. Voldemort and his Death Eaters merely watched on with amusement. Voldemort waved his wand, and the bonds around Cedric fell away.

"What a silly boy," Voldemort said softly, pacing over to Neji. He kicked the Hyuuga's stomach, and Naruto stilled, his eyes narrowing. "Trying to escape me, knowing that he wouldn't survive, but he tried to anyway. Humans are such pitiful creatures." Voldemort rolled Neji to his side with the broken rib cage, and was rewarded with a howl of pain from the Hyuuga. Naruto's vision went red.

"Don't do dare touch him again," Naruto said in a low, deathly voice. "Don't put your stinking foot near him."

Voldemort gazed at Naruto, his lips twisted into a smile. "Your friend over there is dying, ninja. What will you do?"

Cedric was indeed growing paler as his body drained of blood. Naruto began to panic, but forced himself to cool his head.

"How I love watching people grow ever desperate as someone's life leaks away before their eyes," Voldemort said. Naruto pressed his hands against the wound, and Cedric grunted softly.

"Stay with me," Naruto said quietly, "live, alright? Live for your parents, your friends. If you die, what will happen to them? Do you want them to grieve for you? Live, Cedric, alright?"

Cedric's eyes were losing their shine, they dulled, and his breathing became shallower, slower.

Voldemort laughed; a high, mirthless laugh. "What foolishness you sprout." He waved his wand, and Harry was freed from his bonds. He pushed through the circle of Death Eaters, and stumbled towards Naruto and Cedric.

"Oi," Harry said, shaking him; his face was white, "Cedric! Stay awake!"

Cedric made a small noise, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Fainted," Naruto whispered when Harry started to panic.

"Thank god," Harry murmured.

"Now, I'm going to kill you," Naruto said, "I'm going to fucking kill you."

Orange, bubbly chakra began to form. Naruto had stood up, gotten to his feet, and now he faced Voldemort with an indescribable rage that spread through his body. He wanted to murder someone. He wanted to rage, to tear, to kill.

"Naruto," Harry said quietly. He reached out to touch the blonde's shoulder, but he jerked his hand back. It felt like he was burned. "Naruto!"

"He fucked up Neji's rib cage and almost cut Cedric in half," Naruto whispered. "Then he looks away as if nothing happened? Get real."

"Naruto, calm down," Harry said. He didn't know what the orange bubbly-thing was, but he was sure that it wasn't good. "Naruto!"

The bubbling thing suddenly flared out, and the wave of dark energy it contained almost knocked Harry out. His eyes blurred and he started feeling light headed. Dimly, he heard the sound of thumping bodies: Death Eaters falling unconscious.

The chakra was disgusting. It felt wrong, repulsive, and Harry almost retched. Voldemort was affected by it as well, though he was able to withstand its effects.

"Na… ru… to…"

A whisper and Naruto's twisted around. He saw Neji lifting his head weakly, eyes screaming with pain.

"Careful," Neji breathed, "don't… overdo… the fox's… cloak…"

He coughed, and red gushed out of his mouth.

"Neji," Naruto said inaudibly. His eyes were already narrowed, claws beginning to form. "I'm going to kill this bastard, and then I'm going to take you guys home."

Naruto roared; a tail lashed out behind him. Harry stumbled back, his eyes watering, one hand raised to block the flow of power.

"NARUTO!" Harry bellowed.

There was as shout, and Harry's hand flew up of its own accord as Voldemort screamed out the killing curse, aimed at the Boy Who Lived. Voldemort would not miss his chance, even if a certain blonde ninja seemed intent on ruining it. He would kill Harry Potter.

"Expelliarmus!"

It was a reflex; Harry shot the spell without thinking, but it met the curse in mid-air.

There was a second's silence, and then golden light filled the graveyard. Harry's wand was shaking, vibrating, trembling, and then – crazily enough – Harry felt his feet lift into the air and he saw Voldemort doing the same. Their wands were connected by a shivering golden thread.

Naruto had stopped his transformation, staring in shock at the two figures.

The golden thread connecting Harry and Voldemort splintered: though the wands remained connected, a thousand more offshoots arced high over Harry and Voldemort, crisscrossing all around them, until they were enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, a cage of light.

But something happened. There was a crack, a fracture in the dome, but it did not break. Not yet.

_Grab the Portkey._

Harry stopped, wondering if was going mad. Who heard voices in their head? But it sounded familiar. So, so familiar.

_Hurry, Harry. Grab the Portkey. It'll take you back to Hogwarts. Your friend will break the connection. If you wait until you break it yourself, there won't be time. There won't be time, love._

Harry's head whipped around, sure it was his mother. But it couldn't be; surely not…

_Don't worry. We love you, Harry. Now, hurry!_

There was a massive, earth-shattering snap, and the dome broke in half. On the other side was Naruto, two tails flying out behind him, ears drooping, teeth bared. In all honesty, he looked quite frightening, until Harry ran towards him, shouting indistinguishable words. At least Naruto managed to understand the gist of it.

"PORTKEY! GET THE PORTKEY!"

Naruto understood immediately. He sprinted towards Neji and grabbed Cedric. Both moaned, both at their injuries and the Kyuubi's chakra, which was burning their skin. Harry ran towards them, running for his life. He leapt over unconscious bodies of Death Eaters, zigzagging around tombstones, dodging spells and curses from Voldemort.

A few metres from the others, Harry dived behind a marble angel to avoid the jets of red light and saw the tip of its wing shatter as the spells hit it. Gripping his wand more tightly, he dashed out from behind the angel –

"Impedimenta!" he bellowed, pointing his wand wildly over his shoulder.

He heard Voldemort shrieking, casting spell after spell after spell. Harry jumped towards Naruto, Neji and Cedric, grabbed someone's arm –

"I will kill you, Harry Potter!" screamed Voldemort. "I will kill you!"

"Accio!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup.

It flew in the air, and soared towards him – Harry caught it by the handle.

He heard Voldemort's shout of fury at the same moment as he felt the jerk behind his navel that meant the Portkey worked – it was speeding him away in a whirl of wind and colour, Cedric, Neji and Naruto with him… they were going back…

* * *

><p>Neji felt nothing but raw, bursting pain. Suddenly, he had felt a jerk behind his navel, and then a fresh wave of ache and more pain. He slammed into the ground on his chest, and he felt his broken ribs tearing through his flesh. He blacked out.<p>

* * *

><p>A torrent of sound deafened and confused Naruto. There were voices everywhere, footsteps, screams… he would love to remain where he was, but instead he pushed himself up.<p>

He had dispelled the Kyuubi's cloak, but he saw, to dim guilt, that Neji's and Cedric's wrists were chaffed and burnt a glistening, blister red.

"NARUTO! NEJI!"

A familiar voice. What a comfort. Pink was seen, and then Sakura was holding him in a tight hug. Her face was worried, green eyes wide with fear. She leaned back and saw Neji, saw the state he was in.

"Oh, god," Tenten voice choked out. She ran towards her teammate and knelt beside him. Neji's breathing was too shallow now. Blood leaked from his mouth.

"Right ribcage crushed, pierced the lung," Sakura murmured, assessing the damage. "Ino! Get over here! Neji's in critical condition."

Naruto saw that Harry was in a state of shock, being shaken roughly by Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey was taking care of Cedric, the bloody gash on his chest still bleeding. The grass around him was red, red, red.

"We can't move him. I think the Portkey ride here – was it a Portkey, Naruto? – just made it way worse. We'll have to operate here, Ino. Get the supplies, I'm going to start."

Sakura's voice was lulling Naruto to sleep. The Fox's cloak drained energy from him.

"Naruto-kun?"

Hinata's sweet voice shot through Naruto's bleary consciousness.

"Naruto! Dobe!"

"Shut up, Sasuke-teme," Naruto mumbled, his eyelids drooping. He opened them again with difficulty. At first, he only saw a blur of colour, then the stars, then Hinata's face looking down at him, and then Sasuke's. When had he fallen to the ground?

"What shit did you land yourself into this time?" Sasuke snarled, feeling his forehead and then studying his face.

There was a scream of pain – Neji – that ended with pants and groans and the fast sucking in of breath. Hinata closed her eyes.

"Okay, one more time, Neji, hold on."

Another howl and the disgusting smell of blood wafted over to them. There was a crunch, and a low moan.

"Crap, captain. You look like hell," said Shikamaru, bending over Naruto. "You're bleeding."

"Am I?" Naruto raised a heavy, heavy hand and felt his head. He was indeed. When did he get that? "Hey, where's Harry?"

Before Shikamaru could answer, there was a small gasp, and then the words, "He's gone."

"Who's gone?" Naruto asked, starting to panic. He tried to sit up again, and saw Madam Pomfrey waving her wand over a very pale, very white Cedric. His chest wasn't moving. Ino left Neji and moved over to Cedric. Her hand lit up in the healing glow, but Cedric's eyes remained lifeless, empty. Ino withdrew her hand, face colourless.

"My son!" cried a man. Amos Diggory. "My son! What's happened to my son?"

"Died of blood loss," Madam Pomfrey choked out. Her hand fell limply to her side. Naruto had never seen her look so helpless. "He – he's gone. Died of blood loss."

Naruto stared, and blinked, and stared. His brain wasn't processing what he was seeing.

"What do you mean?" he asked stupidly. "We brought him back. Cedric's alive."

"Naruto," Sasuke began, but his captain had began to shake.

"He's alive," Naruto muttered to himself, "he's alive, he's alive… right?"

"Naruto…"

"Aw shit. Fucking hell. Why the fuck did baldy have to…" Naruto kept on mumbling to himself. A hand was twisted into his hair, pulling, the other clawing his face.

"Where the crap is Harry?" he finally asked.

"Not… here…" Gaara had appeared, and he scanned the area. "Naruto… he's not here."

"Go find him!" Naruto said. He felt that something was wrong, but his mind _just __wasn__'__t __working_. "Go!"

Gaara disappeared, and Naruto crawled over to Neji. Ino had returned to him, knowing that nothing could be done for Cedric. She and Sakura were huddled around him, Tenten standing back, biting her fingernails. Neji twitched, but it appeared that he had blacked out again. His body was filled with the blue healing glow of medical chakra, and Naruto saw from his place, between the gaps of Sakura and Ino's bodies, his ribs getting healed back to place, his flesh mending.

"Out of danger," Sakura breathed, sweat marring her brow. "This is only temporary, though. It's still close to critical."

"Someone go with Gaara, find Harry," Naruto mumbled. He felt Shikamaru and Kiba disappear from his side. Then, he rolled over on his side and vomited out blood.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah sorry. I have to apologise to a reviewer. I told himher that Neji was going to die. I had this half written out with Neji as dead before I reconsidered. Reason? Only I know X3**

**Hm… I'm sure some of you are disappointed with this chapter. I both like and dislike this chapter. Don't know why. The reason why the ghost-spirit things didn't appear will be answered later on.**


	25. The Beast Within

**Writer's Block, plus the starting of grade eleven, the hardest of my schooling years. Don't ask anymore.**

**The reviewers: IloveallAnime15, Spider's Thread, Furionknight, StrawberriesAndCinnamonJAM, The Liar Of Truth, The Shadow Moon, wunsleh, Sleepyreader319, Kyuubi No Tenshi, WinxPossible, tenshi-no-akuma-81, missie.1998, ladyyuuki16, ShadowsBloodPain, Frostfire613, nightliliesu, The Awesome God Apollo, HinataWeasley789, CalcBoy91, CATSthewriter, ChelseaAnonymous, poprockwitch, verohey5, magicrazy101, 2amBer and Flower in the River **

**A part of a reason why it took so long to update was because of grek's review. No, it wasn't a flame. But he/she said the truth to my face, and though it wasn't pleasant, I had to admit that it was true. But this admission simply made me go, "Oh my Kami, there really _is _no point to this story," so I just had to overcome that little fact before writing again.**

**Chapter Twenty Five: The Beast Within**

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><p><em>Come on, <em>Shikamaru thought frantically, _come on, faster!_

Though he was body-flickering, he had absolutely no idea where the hell Harry and Moody were. The logical explanation was the Hospital Wing, Gryffindor Tower, or Moody's own office. The last two, he didn't know why they would be there, but his gut told him…

He, Gaara and Kiba raced along hallway after hallway, following the light traces of chakra that Moody and Harry left behind.

_Come on…_

Kiba paused and sniffed the air, Akamaru doing the same beside him. The dog whined, and Kiba nodded.

"This way," Kiba said, jerking his head, and they sped off. Time had never moved slower; every second felt like a minute, every minute felt like an hour. It was as if they were running in water; their footsteps pounded the marble floors, but it was as if they hadn't moved a centimetre.

Kiba led them past the empty Great Hall, down numerous corridors, with only the sound of panicked breaths and the clicking of animal nails on the ground. Kiba slid to a halt, his head cocked, and after a moment of indecision, headed right.

"Here?" Gaara whispered. Kiba nodded, and Shikamaru agreed; he could feel two faint magical signatures nearby.

They stood in front of a door, one they recognised as the one to Moody's office. It was closed, naturally, and they could barely pick out the murmur of a voice on the other side. Shikamaru's ears pricked; for some strange reason, the voice sounded malicious, and the amount of killing intent oozing from underneath the door alerted him to the fact that they were facing an enemy.

Gaara's sand reared its head quietly, and Kiba and Shikamaru watched stonily as it rose up like a wave, and crashed down against the door. The impact almost splintered the fragile piece of wood, and when it fell down, the three ninja saw a very odd sight indeed.

They saw Moody bending over Harry, who looked frozen in his chair. His wand was pointed to Harry's throat, a snarl marring his face. The ninja took all this in, in the space of a second, and, realising that their charge was in danger, bounded forwards, and in the next second, Moody was wrapped in Gaara's sand, Kiba's kunai to his throat, and Shikamaru held his wand.

"Care to explain what's happening, Moody-san?" Shikamaru said coolly. He held the wand as if it was a rotting animal, and he eyed it with distaste.

"Let me go!" Moody roared. "Let me go! I'll kill you straight after I kill Potter!"

"You will, will you?" said Gaara in bemusement. "I wonder why."

None of the ninja seemed remotely concerned that the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was threatening murder.

"Yo, Harry. You alright?" Shikamaru asked. The boy nodded shakily, his face still white.

"I – I don't understand," he stuttered. "Professor Moody – he wouldn't –"

"He would, actually," said Kiba. "He's been acting weirdly all year."

"Though we can't really make judgements," Shikamaru shrugged. "We barely know him."

There was a thundering of footsteps, and Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape burst in. It took only a moment for the headmaster to assess the situation, and once he did, he calmly waved his wand and ropes flew out. Gaara let Moody go after he was bounded.

It was at this present time that the ninja really saw _why _Dumbledore seemed to powerful, why the wizards of the Dark side seemed to fear him. His eyes, normally a kind, twinkling blue, was blazing with such ferocity that even the shinobi felt wary. His figure towered over everyone else, his frame quivering with rage.

McGonagall hurried over to Harry, and whispered, "Let's go, Potter. We have to –"

"No," said Dumbledore sharply. McGonagall jerked, as if she had been electrocuted.

"But –"

"He needs to understand," said Dumbledore. His eyes – burning, terrible eyes – flickered over to Snape, silently giving him instructions. Snape held his gaze for a few seconds, before striding over to Moody and forcing the wizard's mouth open. Moody yelled and struggled, but Snape managed to trickle in the Truth Potion that he held in his hands.

"Polyjuice Potion," said Gaara quietly, as he splashed the potion all over the ground.

"Miss Granger has taught you well," said Dumbledore.

Nothing more was said; the three teachers stood in silence, as did the shinobi. Harry fixed unblinking green eyes on 'Moody'. Though only a few seconds passed, it felt like years, as Dumbledore debated with himself on what to ask. Finally –

"Who are you?" Dumbledore asked, starting the first question.

The interrogation began.

* * *

><p>Neji woke up, trying to breathe, but to his horror, found that he could, but only <em>barely<em>. It was a frightening experience, certainly, when one wakes up only to find oneself almost dying from lack of air.

"Neji, Neji, calm down," said a soothing voice.

"S-Sakura?" he choked.

"It's okay, you've just – your lungs were crushed," said Sakura. Her face swam into view; it was streaked with sweat, worry, and obvious relief.

"Neji!"

_Tenten, _Neji thought drowsily. He felt a gentle grasping on his hands, immediately recognising them as Tenten's.

"Neji! Are you okay?"

He tried to tell her that he was fine, but his vision blurred again, and his tongue felt heavy and useless.

"Neji!"

"Tenten, it's okay. He just has to rest."

There was a dry sob.

_Tenten doesn't cry, _Neji said, dimly thinking that this was strange. _Tenten doesn't cry… why would she be crying…?_

* * *

><p>Sasuke seethed, pacing up and down the Hospital Wing, trying to abate his anger. He had heard what Moody – or rather, Barty Crouch Junior – had confessed once Dumbledore had asked his questions.<p>

_FLASHBACK_

"_My father only accepted the Mini-Task because I made him," Barty Crouch whispered. "He was under the Imperius Curse, placed by me. I wanted to finish off the champions during that task, make it seem like the ninja's fault, that's why I had placed the Imperius Curse on Krum. He broke away from the others; it clearly wasn't the plan; I could see the panic in their eyes."_

_END FLASHBACK_

Harry had been taken up to Dumbledore office straight afterwards, and Sasuke was left pondering the "why?"

* * *

><p>"In the graveyard," said Harry, "I heard – I thought I heard the voices of my parents."<p>

Dumbledore and Sirius looked at him sharply, Dumbledore with expectation, Sirius with shock.

"That is… strange," Dumbledore admitted. "But not in the way you think. You see, Priori Incantatem usually makes one wand force the other to regurgitate the spells it performed – in reverse. Normally, you would have actually seen the shadows of your parents come out."

"But – but I only heard them," said Harry in confusion.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, closing his eyes. "You said that Mr Uzumaki was there… that he had something that looked like orange bubbles?"

"Yes."

"Ah."

"What –"

"Mr Uzumaki's transformation hindered that. His chakra would have interfered with the effects," said Dumbledore.

"Transformation?" Sirius asked. Dumbledore shook his head, signalling that it wasn't his secret to share.

"I see," Dumbledore said quietly. "This changes everything."

* * *

><p>"Kiba," Ino whispered. Kiba staggered into the Hospital Wing, his face very white and his limbs shaking. Akamaru slunk in after him, his ears flat on his head.<p>

"Dementors," Kiba groaned, collapsing on a chair.

Sakura was monitoring Neji's condition, with Hinata and Tenten next to him. Sasuke was leaning against the window, onyx eyes darkened with anger. Gaara and Shikamaru sat near their blonde captain, and Ino was just putting some supplies away when Kiba entered; he had been assigned the task of guarding Barty Crouch. A few moments later, they heard the furious voices of McGonagall and Cornelius Fudge.

"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva –" Fudge was saying loudly.

"You should never have brought that thing inside the castle!" yelled McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out –"

The Hospital doors burst open, and as Ino eased Kiba out of the chair, the two shouting adults entered. Snape was behind the pair, his face stony.

"Where's Dumbledore? Where –"

"Shut up," Sasuke snarled, poison filling his voice. "We have no need of your idiocy here."

"Mr Fudge, please," said Mrs Weasley, a tad coldly, "there are patients in here. They need rest."

There was a second set of footsteps, and Dumbledore himself entered, looking irritated.

"Cornelius," said Dumbledore steadily. "What is the meaning of this?"

"He – he," McGonagall said, pointing a trembling finger at the Minister. "This _man_ –"

"Mr Fudge, once finding out that Barty Crouch Junior was in the castle, felt that his personal safety was in danger. He childishly thought that bringing in a Dementor would help him, and when he did –"

"That – that _monster_," McGonagall spluttered, "swooped down on Crouch, and – and administered the Dementor's Kiss on him!"

"It's not as if anyone would miss him!" Fudge blustered. "It wasn't a loss! It wasn't as if anyone _wanted _him around!"

"_But _it was still a human life that you thought was worthless, and immediately rendered him into a state worse than death," Sasuke spat.

"Ha! As if you _savages _have any right to say that! You kill everyday!"

"But we recognise that fact, and we recognise that we are nothing more than tools for murder," said Sasuke, "while _you _think that just because you are the fucking Minister for Magic, you can do whatever you want, and _still _deny the fact that it was murder."

"Stop," said Dumbledore, and Sasuke snapped his mouth shut, glaring venomously at the Minister, who was turning a curious shade of purple. "Cornelius, this will be sudden and abrupt, but let me make this loud and clear. Mr Barty Crouch Junior was acting under the orders of Lord Voldemort, and now his state means that he cannot give testimony."

A silence shrouded the Hospital Wing. Then, a small, curious smile spread across Fudge's face.

"And – er – where exactly did you hear this from?"

"Harry witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort," said Dumbledore evenly. Then, oddly enough, Fudge started laughing. It was edged with hysteria, and it echoed crazily along the room.

"And you believe him?" Fudge said, toning down his chuckles. There was a mad glint in his eyes. "You believe that this boy, one who is a Parselmouth, has a fit every other minute, and has a scar that has more than likely addled his brain?"

Dangerous killing intent poured into the room as the eight conscious ninja made their feelings about the Minister very, very clear.

Gaara took a step forward, his eyes blazing. Shikamaru barked out a sharp command, and Gaara halted, though his furious eyes never left Fudge's face.

"Preposterous," Fudge whispered.

"If you do not believe me, then fine," said Dumbledore. "But if that is your answer, then I believe we have met a parting of ways. Since you do not intend to do anything, you shall act as you see fit, and I – I shall act as I see fit."

There was no threat in Dumbledore's voice, merely a controlled coolness, but Fudge looked as if his hackles had been raised.

Bill shifted in his seat, Ron and Hermione glanced at him, and they followed his gaze. Harry was awake, and his eyes were staring in grim determination at the Minister. Mrs Weasley and Madam Pomfrey stood with their hands over their mouths, while McGonagall and Snape stood in hard silence.

"Now, see here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, waving a threatening finger – as if that made him any more scary, "If you're going to work against me, by jolly, I will –"

"You will what?" Shikamaru asked with an unusual amount of maliciousness. "Fire him? Put him in Azkaban?"

"I bloody would!" Fudge shouted. Shikamaru merely snickered, as if he found this funny.

"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, ignoring the argument, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."

Fudge opened and closed his mouth like an ugly goldfish, before turning suddenly and striding down the room, past McGonagall and Snape and towards the door. He stopped at Harry's bed, dropped a sack of gold, and said shortly, "Your winnings."

Then he turned and walked again, reaching the exit, and placed on hand on the handle.

"I will be back tomorrow to discuss some things with you, Dumbledore," said Fudge in a cool, quiet voice. It was a little eerie. "Good night to you."

He disappeared into the shadows beyond.

Once he had left, Dumbledore jumped straight into action. His orders were brisk and soft, but soon enough, the Hospital Wing was empty, save for the ninja, Mrs Weasley, Ron, Hermione and Harry. Even Dumbledore had gone to prepare something.

"Take the potion, Harry," murmured Mrs Weasley. "Try and think about something else for a while. Think about… think about what you're going to buy with your winnings!"

"I don't want it," said Harry. His voice held no emotion. "I don't want it. You can have it. Take it. I don't want it."

The beast inside Harry, the one which had been writhing and yowling painfully to be let out, reached the peak of its strength. Harry had fought against it, both directly after the Portkey had taken them back, and when he was talking in Dumbledore's office. But now, with Mrs Weasley's scared, but still warm, kindly face trained on him, Harry felt his restraints shatter and break. Finally, that beast wriggled free, and Harry felt a prickling feeling in his eyes.

A quiet sob escaped his throat, barely audible, but Mrs Weasley heard it. She moved forwards, engulfing Harry in a hug that simply made the tears come out faster.

"It wasn't your fault," Mrs Weasley whispered.

"I told him – I told him to take the bloody Cup with me," Harry croaked. "I'm such an idiot... because I told him to take that stupid Cup."

She tightened her grip, and Harry leaned on her shoulder. He had no memory of ever been embraced like this. It was as if… it was like a hug of a mother. The beast inside him howled in misery, shrieking and crying, cry, crying with grief.

* * *

><p><strong>I skipped over a lot of parts, but I figured you guys have already read it before, and I didn't want to bore you guys.<strong>

**Next chapter should be the last. I'm not sure how long it'll take; probably not long at all, considering it's the final one.**

**It's been fun ^^ Reviews are welcome, but if you guys don't have anything pleasant to say, please don't say it. Depending on my mood, I'll probably PM you back with major bitching. But if it's constructive critisism, then go ahead and click the button. **


	26. Thank You

**Two days ago, it had been a year since I published this fic and started writing. Now, it ends.**

**This is the final chapter. Might not be as earth-shattering or mind-blowing as you might expect, but here you go. (It's also very, very short.)**

**Thank you to the reviewers: xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, ****WinxPossible****, ****Kyuubi No Tenshi****, ****Spider's Thread****, ****The Awesome God Apollo****, ****poprockwitch****, ****Ochibi and Urufu****, ****Flower in the River****, GoldenMoon1997, ****CalcBoy91****, ****Jadesilkmoon****, ****2amBer****, ****ladyyuuki16****, Iloveallanim15, ****Mon Esprit Libre****, ****hello-totoro-ninja****, ****Furionknight****, ****Veronyka18****, ****Fuinjutsu Sage****, ****Your Local Voldemort****, ****sunfishchamp****, ****Miko Potter****, ****NAIgurl4everz, ****Kage Hatake-chan and ChelseaAnonymous**

**Thank you also to Fuinjutsu Sage for giving me an idea that became my pathetic attempt to save this sad excuse of a story. **

**This chapter is for furuba-suzume for reasons already known to her ^^ And also, this is for all of _you_.**

**Chapter Twenty Six: Thank You**

* * *

><p>What was this power? This glorious, burning <em>power<em>?

A lipless mouth curved into an ecstatic smile. An insane cackle burst from his throat.

Wonderful. Amazing. Addicting.

"Power," he whispered. It coursed through his veins, filling him with new strength. "Lord Voldemort is powerful!"

Voldemort waved his wand and a red spark shot into the sky, much more brightly than was per usual. It curved into the shape of a grinning skull, and joy filled him once more.

"Thank you, container of the Nine Tails Demon," Voldemort hissed. "Thank you for giving me _power_."

* * *

><p>"Because when Mr Uzumaki let Kyuubi's chakra run wild in that graveyard," Dumbledore said, "it affected the spell that resulted when Voldemort and Harry's wands battled against each other. Priori Incantatem would not have worked properly."<p>

"There were cracks in the barrier," Harry said. His voice sounded strange to his ears and he stared at the blankets in front of him without really seeing it. Dumbledore's eyes sharpened and he sat up straighter.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore said evenly. "Tell me, Harry. Did you see any… shadows? Did you see any 'ghosts' of people that came out of Voldemort's wand?"

"No," Harry said numbly. "I just heard voices." He looked up at the headmaster. "Why?"

"Well," Dumbledore said slowly. "In normal cases, you would have seen an echo of Cedric because that was the last spell that the wand performed… and perhaps more. It seems that Mr Uzumaki's chakra interfered with that process." He stopped and stared at Harry. "It seems, Harry, that the Kyuubi's chakra has somehow made Voldemort stronger."

"_What?" _Harry said, aghast.

"The presence that I sense… it's too powerful to be normal. Something happened back in the graveyard with Mr Uzumaki that I'm not entirely sure about."

"But… if Voldemort is stronger than he already is –" Harry started miserably, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"You forget, Harry, that you were also there, and that you were also exposed to the same effects as Voldemort," Dumbledore said. He smiled faintly. "And that means that you have received the effects of the Kyuubi chakra mixed in with the reverse spell effect… which also, somehow, gives you more power as well."

* * *

><p>"Fudge is coming around," Mrs Weasley said softly. "He is weak-willed, certainly, but Dumbledore has done too much for Fudge and he knows that. He trusts Dumbledore a lot."<p>

Harry nodded and tried to swallow. "I see," he said quietly. "Thanks for letting me know."

It was already the last day of term and Mrs Weasley had decided to pay the school a visit; she had matters to discuss with Dumbledore that required immediate attention. They had met in the corridor and stayed there for a bit.

Mrs Weasley nodded at him and then left. Harry stared at her retreating figure, feeling strangely light-headed.

There was a small sound and Harry did not blink when the silent ANBU dropped in from above.

"Naruto," Harry said. "How are you?"

The ANBU captain pulled his mask from his face and tried to smile at him, but failed to do so. He was clad, once again, in his armour, and there was a new scar near his hairline.

"Fine," Naruto said. "No permanent damage. I heard you got something off old Kyuubi here."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Just a little bit more power to defeat Voldemort."

Naruto nodded sagely, but said nothing. Harry looked around at the ninja, who all stared back. Their expressions were stiff and their postures were erect.

"We owe you an apology," Shikamaru said seriously. "We did not protect you."

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Sakura pressed. "We didn't protect you. We did not protect your heart."

"Your mission was not to protect my heart," Harry said, shaking his head. "It was just to protect my physical body."

"Nevertheless," Neji said, "we're sorry."

Neji was hunched over, just barely, in pain as his mending ribs took on the strain.

"But," Gaara added, "we're glad we came here. It was an experience that we needed."

"And we made friends with you all," Tenten said.

"So, I suppose we should also say thank you," Sasuke said almost grudgingly.

"Stay safe," Hinata said. "And take care of yourself."

"Take care of your friends as well," Ino murmured.

"Because they'll be the ones who'll support you in the end," Kiba continued.

Tears pricked at Harry's eyes as he, too, said, "Thank you. And I will."

"So… we'll be going now," Naruto said. "Our mission is officially over."

"Is this mission a fail or a success?" Harry asked.

"Both," Sasuke shrugged. "We'll only get half the money because we let a student die. But we protected you, so…"

Though the ten of them did not smile, the looks in their eyes was more than enough. They understood how Harry was feeling and it was something that Harry was immensely thankful for.

"Will you be back?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps," Sakura said. "It really depends on if we get any mission requests here."

"We might just drop in and pay you a visit, though," Ino said.

"Good luck for everything," Hinata said finally.

Naruto glanced at his comrades and said, "Well then. It's time to go. Be careful on your way home."

The tissue box that he held in his hands started to glow and the other nine ANBU hurried forwards to put a finger on it.

The glow blinded Harry, but still, this time, he managed a grin as his ten friends disappeared back to their lands.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked the empty corridor. "I _am _home."

The End.

* * *

><p><em><strong>You fucked up this story!<strong>_

**Yes, I know.**

_**The storyline didn't change at all!**_

**I'm well aware of that.**

_**What kind of crossover is this?**_

**My first one.**

**I bet half of you are reading this and thinking, "This is a shit of a chapter. What the hell? There's nothing _in _it!"**

**Me: ^^;**

**So, everyone, if you put any one of the above lines in _italics _in your review, you'll know my response. I _know _that this story was boring and I _know _that nothing changed; don't remind me. But now I can finally click on the 'complete' button, sit back and savour the feeling of finishing this story.**

**But I'm very glad I wrote this story at all, because it's been a huge stepping stone for me. This was my first more-than-three-chapters story, and so I was unprepared and very naïve. Writing this story has made me realise a lot of things which I won't name because it'll take too long. But most of all, it made me realise that deviating from the plot _is _okay and no one will hate me for it, and it also made me aware that _I do not know the first things about a flame. _Looking back, I can't believe that I classed the review that I received back in Chapter One as a flame (it wasn't really a flame). Now, of course, I know better.**

**Thank you to all my readers who stuck with me from the beginning till the end and witnessed my decreasing quality of chapters and _still _said, "I love this story!" Reading those comments are very heart-warming (and they inflate my ego! … Joking) and I sincerely thank you all for reading. **

**Eh… enough of all that heart-to-heart… But I really do mean it!**

**Now… some Shameless Self-Advertising:**

**I have written another Naruto x Harry Potter crossover by the name of _Zinnia_. The main character is Shikamaru, who is twenty-nine and a jounin sensei in the story and he has to hunt down a missing-nin who has escaped to the wizarding world. I thought it made a nice change from the usual, so there you go ;D I will be forever happy if you gave it a chance ^^**

**Once again, thank you. Thank you for the criticism, the praise and the loyalty, because if you guys are still here reading this… I think that's very loyal. Or maybe you guys just want to get to the end already…**

**Yes, yes, I'm going now. *Waves***


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